photos from morguefile.com

We all go through change. We grow up; we get older. We have babies; our children leave home. We meet new people; we lose loved ones. We upgrade; we scale down.

Some changes are our choice; some changes are forced on us. Some changes are excitedly anticipated; some are greatly feared. Just as the seasons continually change every year, so are “seasonal” changes inevitable in our lives.

With every new season, something ends in order for something new to start. I am going through a change now – a transition in my job. It is actually a planned change, and mostly I am looking forward to it. I started reading Henry Cloud’s book, Necessary Endings, in order to prepare for the change, but now I wish I had read it a long time ago.

Henry Cloud writes that necessary endings in our lives are like pruning for plants – a requirement for living and thriving. Pruning can cut away dead wood that is only taking up space, sick or damaged wood that is draining energy from the plant, and even healthy wood that is just too much for the plant to sustain. I know pruning is positive and important for plants… this book is helping me to see that necessary endings hold the same benefit for me.

I am learning that it is “ok” – even good – to help a non-performer “move on” to a different job; it is helpful to re-distribute resources to the vibrant and growing areas of the ministry; it is healthy for me to leave certain responsibilities of my job to others, so that I can focus and flourish in new endeavors.

Necessary Endings has convinced me of the normalcy, the expediency, and the purpose of change.

What about you? How do you feel about change? Do you struggle to make necessary endings in your life?