A Season of Hiding

Life can throw you a curve ball in your calling. Coming out of the other side of a year long illness has taught me that lesson. I’d never given a thought to blogging or coaching. It was just something not on my radar. I had bought a domain and hosting a year prior thinking only in terms of building a practice, not a way of life. I thought that perhaps a web page advertising my services, continuing education classes and counseling would be my way of life. Not so! My world was changed and turned upside down and it has not been the first time. You would think I would learn.photo by Calab George unsplash.com

Currently I am in a season of life that I am very familiar with: isolation. It’s not uncommon when going through life’s changes that one finds, for a season, you are hidden. It is a very lonely place and, in the beginning, I fight against it. It takes me a minute to see the change of season in my life and calibrate to the new normal. I embrace the solitude. Solitude is a positive thing. It is an empty space around me that can be filled with positivity. Solitude is a blank canvas that comes alive with every new concept learned, each of which, creates a brush stroke. These concepts and, even the new like minded friends, create imageries on the canvas that will hang in the gallery of our personal showing.

Alone at my desk, navigating these new concepts of web design, blogging and marketing; I can fill my space with chats among like minded bloggers and writers. These conversations edify and make for creative energy that flows into my personal space. The web is a university and, for me, the Ruach Ha”kodesh רוח הקודש is my guide. In our hidden season, there is no competition, only a deep learning curve. As we emerge from the solitude, those lessons are fully integrated and the world is ready to view what has been planted firmly inside.

photo by Jacques LE HENAFF unsplash.com

In this season of life your circle will be small. I rely on Papa Yah to bring forth, by divine appointment, those who are to be in my sphere in this season. After a period of mourning the solitude, He never ceases to amaze me with the people and adventures he brings on and offline. The reason our circle must be divinely protected for a time, is to keep others who will not understand at bay. Those whom you already know that have personal issues and, perhaps, some insecurity at your success are starkly highlighted. In this time, you learn who your friends are in this phase of life and, potentially, friends and loved ones may have to be sidelined for a time.

It doesn’t always mean a permanent separation, only until they learn to respect what is now your reality. These inner circle friends and supportive family members see you at your absolute rawest. They hear you lamenting as you are trying to grasp the subject at hand. They listen to us as we talk about fighting off distractions that we can sometimes create for ourselves. Allowing negativity will only erode your productivity and harm your budding confidence in this new season. This is why isolation is necessary. It is an editor of your social interactions that leaves only those who will have honest lasting impact on your life.
photo by Volker Schnäbelea unsplash.com

Isolation introduces you to new facets of yourself that were hidden from existence. It brings to the surface parts of you from the past, that perhaps, need to find peace and integrate into the here and now. Isolation brings time for us to commune with our creator and engage with the wonderful imagination that he gave us. Isolation is the wind that puts imagination to flight. One can only create in the crowd on a limited scale. In isolation there is no one to judge you but you. This is where you learn how you honestly treat your own person. Isolation is a many faceted life lesson on who you are to others and who you really are to yourself. Lies have a way of disappearing, and your own inner dialogue changing when you engage your Creator in this divinely appointed season.

This is the ultimate in self help. Sometimes we seek it purposefully, like a fast from the outside world for a day or maybe more. Then there is the full blown season. When you understand this particular rhythm of life, you will know that after the isolation comes acceleration and favor. If you have learned to properly treat yourself and accept the editing of negativity, there will be elevation. You have been given a specific message that only you can bring after having been in this season of life. Partnering with the Ruach רוח הקודש, who literally means breath, brings the giving of the wind to your wings so that you may soar. Coming out of isolation, you will find that you are strengthened in such a way that when your message comes forth and shatters existing paradigms, you can handle the opposition from a place of peace. When the detractors come in full force, you can still share your message with grace. Isolation is to a human as cocoons are to a butterfly.

Shalom
Stacia A. Martin
The Coffee House Counselor.com