Here in Waco, Texas, the season is shifting ever so slowly. 

We still have some 70-degree days ahead of us just before Christmas. But those 70-degrees don't feel like their counterparts in the spring.

Fall and winter have made their stealthy approach. There are little signs like the leaves that show up in my carport because of the cooler nights, and the thicker fur on the neighborhood cats. Many of our early fall days even feel like summer with highs in the 80s and (gulp) a recalcitrant 90. 

Little by little, we have to admit it is deep into fall and time for the heaters and heavier clothes and even a blanket.

Now I know what cold is like. I grew up in Amarillo. And even my northern-tier friends who visited there can tell you the winters are brutal. Actually, it's one reason I live where I do. It's just not so darn cold.

And just like those telltale crunchy leaves, life leaves clues when our season is shifting.

We're going to talk about it.

When I say "seasons," I'm not talking about mom-life, mid-life or golden-life. Nope. Rather, I'm talking about those internal season when what always worked doesn't and what you once thought would happen doesn't and now you're stuck trying to figure out how to live with all the unseen, undone, unrecognized spaces of life.

For some, it's about a work transition that didn't quite pan out. Or it's that move you made across the country that you know was a good thing, but you've left all the familiar behind and you feel exposed. Some of us grieved the loss of our husbands, through death or divorce. 

And all we know is that we don't really recognize where we are; we aren't sure where we're going. Most disconcerting of all is the question we ask most mornings and evenings; "Who IS that woman in the mirror?"

When the weather season shifts, we know what to do. If it's cooler, we put on something warmer. When it's cooler, we take off some layers. Emotionally, we do the same thing.

When we feel vulnerable, exposed, unsure, we gather all the comforting things around us. And for women who are accustomed to taking control, we do an excellent job of maintaining the appearance of 'all is well.'

We isolate. Shoulders up and back, we stand straight and tall and carry on, British or not. One thing we don't do is tell people about our internal turmoil. Because. Well. We'll figure out.

Only sometimes we don't.

But it costs us more than we'll admit.

Most women think the hardest part of this season is navigating grief, confusion, or transition. But the true challenge is something far quieter:

It's the cost of staying here in this isolated, hunkered down season longer than you were meant to.

While you’re trying to find your footing, life is still moving:
– your confidence quietly erodes
– your decisions become hesitant
– your purpose drifts
– your leadership dims
– your identity subtly rewrites itself

Not because you’re weak. But because loss reshapes the landscape of your soul.

And every month of waiting carries a cost.

• You accumulate more overwhelm and experience less joy.
• You pay the cost of becoming someone you don't recognize.
• Instead of spiritual clarity, you walk around in the darkness; stumbling and falling.
• Before you know it, day after day has been spent and wasted instead of being lived.
• Your indecision causes missed opportunities.
• And because you're hiding, you drift away from the people you love.
• All the while, your dreams shrink to a passing memory instead of the overcoming life God has for you.

This is not the life God designed for you. And it is not the life you have to accept.

Cheer up though, Lovely One! It doesn't have to stay this way. You do have the power to change things. If you decide you want to.

There are two things you have to do. And I know about them because I've had to do them too.

Be brutally honest, and deeply compassionate with yourself.

What you don't name you can't change. Because as long as you live in la-la land pretending it's all okay, you will not make any changes in your here-and-now and obviously not for your future.

I spent twelve weeks getting honest with myself about why I kept going around the same mountain of regret and anger over a past situation. Until I saw what I was believing in light of what God was saying, I would never have made the progress to finish one book, rewrite another, and create two devotional journals in the past 5 months. Additionally, I wouldn't have preached at two churches, shared a teaching event with a local pastor, nor had the courage to send my information to other churches. And I wouldn't have been preaching at a local Aglow meeting soon.

The grief and vulnerability of the last years had stolen my true identity as an author for the kingdom of God and His women. I allowed the lies I held onto trap me into believing I was not a valuable coach, a good friend, or a fit preacher of the Gospel. And only with brutal honesty could I face the truth, the consequences, and receive the healing I needed and deserved.

Fight for the Woman You Were Created to Be and Become

In this shifting season, you can't afford to be passive. You must, as the Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 1:13-16 (Message):

So roll up your sleeves, get your head in the game, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy."

Here is where we take the right kind of stand. Like when the weather is warmer and we throw off the layers.

We open ourselves to truth and "throw off the things that hinder us" and face the shifting season right in the eyes and say, "Teach me what you've got for me."

The beautiful thing is, you don't have to do it all alone. 

I know, I know. I'm the same "I can do it myself" kind of girl. But unless women like us hear a different perspective, we'll just decide we know all the answers. And no one does. 

Join me for the Peaceful Mind-Purposeful Heart Reset Experience

It is a 60ish minute intimate, interactive online event. There's only one workshop left in this year. It's your opportunity to give yourself some compassion and honesty for where you've been and where you want to go. It's free. And it might just be what you're heart has been aching for.