With so much suffering and violence around the world, it is easy to forget about joy. And if you are dealing with a stressful life change, joy may be the last thing on your mind and heart. Yet this is the exact time when reflecting on the meaning of joy can be the most helpful and hopeful.

Are you sensing you are ready for a change in the way you deal with the ups and downs of life, or wanting to experience your faith differently?

I have found that transformative transitions hold long periods of uncertainty for me. For most of my life, almost nothing has been harder to sit with than uncertainty, yet I have come to befriend it.

If there is one thing that has helped me the most in all of my times of transition, it is letting-go rituals. If you feel as though you are holding a lot of emotion—whether it is joy, gratitude, grief, or worry—rituals are a powerful way to express yourself and connect with God's Grace.

A life change rocks your world. You feel as if you are in a state of free fall. You may be disoriented, even lost.