{"id":3062,"date":"2012-09-04T12:40:23","date_gmt":"2012-09-04T16:40:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3062"},"modified":"2012-09-04T12:42:10","modified_gmt":"2012-09-04T16:42:10","slug":"leaving-is-hard-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/leaving-is-hard-to-do.html","title":{"rendered":"Leaving is hard to do"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>One of my greatest fears is that I won’t know when to leave, stop and quit.\u00a0 When my husband retired 11 years ago, I had told him that I didn’t intend to “retire.”\u00a0 Yet, on the other hand, I also don’t want to hang around after my time is up. \u00a0No matter whether it’s minstry or a treasured friendship or a time to stop any other activity, knowing when to step way is vital to the growth of a person and an organization, especially the church.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Of course, I remember Corrie Ten Boon’s greatest evangelistic\u00a0meetings and world-wide travel didn’t begin until\u00a0after she was 65 years old.\u00a0 There is the\u00a0reality of Winston Churchill who didn’t become Prime Minister of England until he was 66. \u00a0He became prime minister again at the age of 77 and served until he was 81.\u00a0 But what about the person who has outlived his\u00a0days of freshness and everyone knows he should walk away but he wants to continue to be the final authority, the boss.<\/p>\n

In facing the years ahead, there are things I can do to prepare for the time the Lord\u00a0nudges\u00a0me away so that others can move forward.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I can be determined to walk in humility. \u00a0Of course, this isn’t easy for anyone, \u00a0However, stepping back is especially for a person who sees herself as a “leader.” \u00a0For me, the easiest position I can take is being the one who oversees the action.<\/li>\n
  2. Understand that the main job of a leader is to cast the vision for an organization. \u00a0When the ability to cast a vision is gone, it could be \u00a0time to step down from leadership. \u00a0The greatest clue is when you want to do things the way we’ve always done them. \u00a0Change becomes\u00a0abhorrent.<\/li>\n
  3. I can continue to learn how to be a better helper. \u00a0While I know that the spiritual gift God has placed on me is administration, I, also, realize that sometimes people who are the leaders needs other eyes and ears to help shape and\u00a0implement\u00a0their vision.<\/li>\n
  4. I must keep in mind that God is able to cover all the parts when the need arises. \u00a0Most of the time when I’ve left one position, I find that it’s a lot like taking my hand out of a bucket of water. \u00a0The water remains and so does the bucket.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"\"<\/a>When it happens to us, change is almost never seen as a good thing. \u00a0We all like the status quo. \u00a0Yet, as a Christian, we know that God is never a static God. \u00a0Everything is in constant flux, regarding God’s world and the Church.<\/p>\n

    Part of the godly way is knowing when we are part of the Lord’s plan for change and walking into that change.<\/p>\n

    Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.<\/em><\/p>\n

    –Corrie ten Boom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    One of my greatest fears is that I won’t know when to leave, stop and quit.\u00a0 When my husband retired 11 years ago, I had told him that I didn’t intend to “retire.”\u00a0 Yet, on the other hand, I also don’t want to hang around after my time is up. \u00a0No matter whether it’s minstry…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,500,3,40,186,49,16,147,8,4,41],"tags":[690,503,21,688,749,699,715,701,689,504,502,6,700,501],"class_list":["post-3062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-corrie-ten-boom","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-leadership","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-change","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-corrie-ten-boom","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-positive-change","tag-retirement","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality","tag-winston-churchill"],"yoast_head":"\nLeaving is hard to do - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/leaving-is-hard-to-do.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leaving is hard to do - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of my greatest fears is that I won’t know when to leave, stop and quit.\u00a0 When my husband retired 11 years ago, I had told him that I didn’t intend to “retire.”\u00a0 Yet, on the other hand, I also don’t want to hang around after my time is up. \u00a0No matter whether it’s minstry…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/leaving-is-hard-to-do.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-04T16:40:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-09-04T16:42:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/09\/walking-away.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. 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