Noticings

Life Transitions

May 23

A Reflection by Christine Jurisich

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? This month, our theme is transitions and transformations. It is usually during a change in your life—retirement, aging, empty nesting, losing a loved one, health issues, or confusion over institutions (churches, government, corporations) in transition—that you begin to ask deep questions. You begin to want to connect with God and Mystery in a new way. When that happens, the best way to start a spiritual growth journey is by beginning to notice.

Notice

Notice what is stirring within you. Perhaps you are hearing:

“I’m tired of being sad and feel ready to heal.”

Or, “I see people deep in prayer and want that for myself.”

Or, “I just experienced the worst disappointment or loss, and I have no idea how to sort through it.”

A relationship with God can only begin from the place in which you stand. Notice your feelings. Notice if you have any tension in your shoulders. Notice if the same running dialogue is on repeat in your head. Do not judge. Do not let the should-haves or could-haves cloud your unearthing. Simply notice. Journal about it. Take a walk. Let your thoughts and feelings and noticings be what they are.

Bring Your Noticings to God

Bring your noticings to God. Write a letter. Visualize handing your noticings over to the Divine. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you discover the deeper longing and desire buried underneath. Ask for patience for this lifelong process.

Choose How to Respond or Not Respond

As you begin to notice, you have the choice to be intentional. How do you want to respond to these noticings? Perhaps you don’t want to respond at all, trusting you will know when and if you want to do anything with the noticings. I’ve had plenty over the years that required me to wait before I was ready to acknowledge them.

When you are ready, you can journal, write a letter to God, find a helpful book, talk to a friend, paint, walk out your thoughts, or attend a retreat. Anything that gives you the space and time to keep listening to those noticings.

Engage in the Lifelong Journey of Noticing

Once you begin to be more attentive with your noticings, you will most likely become more discerning and patient with your decisions and interactions with loved ones. Your life may look the same on the outside, yet you begin to show up for life differently. Making the choice to grow spiritually can feel both exciting and scary (and everything in between). No matter what brings you to a place of intentionality, let it all begin by simply noticing with an open, gentle heart.