Have you ever gone through a major life transition? You may postpone such experiences because the upheaval and disruption are so great, but that is the price you pay for moving into a situation that is better for you in the long term. So there is a tradeoff between short term pain and long term gain. The transition may not be as traumatic as you imagine it. It is more a matter of letting go of certainty to face the unknown. How do you know when the time is right to change? When the pain or restraint of staying put are greater than the risk of moving forward into an unknown future.

Have you ever been convicted? This term has a legal sense but for this case consider the moral sense. Conviction of sin leads to repentance. What has been most effective in convicting you? The written word can do this, and believers commonly encounter forceful spoken messages from those with positions of authority in the church. But these are not the only alternatives. What about the unspoken and even unaware examples of those who act with an integrity that you do not yet possess? You have heard that actions speak louder than words.

Do you have a high-status job? This is a real concept whether it is discussed openly or not, and everyone knows where they fit in the hierarchy. Those who serve are considered to be of lower status than those who are served, but even within the realm of servants those who serve higher status people outrank those who serve lower status people, because they ‘tag along’ on the status of those they serve. You may recall that I addressed this matter of serving and turned the whole order upside down. By conventional logic those who serve the least of these would be at the bottom of the order.

Are you in over your head? Children usually wade before they learn to swim, and the same imagery applies to the development of your faith. It is comforting to be able to touch the bottom, but this is only wading. This severely limits the places you can go in the water, keeping you close to shore. But there is risk and uncertainty and a loss of control in being in over your head. If you have been in deeper water you know that the water will support you even though it is not solid. In a spiritual parallel, do you know that the divine mystery will support you if you are in over your head?