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Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m so tired of starting over.”
Me too.
But I’ve learned that just because life changes, whether due to time clicking by too quickly or a major circumstantial change occurs, we aren’t starting over at the starting line. Instead, we are simply beginning again in a new season where God has placed us – with experience and wisdom on our side.
As I mentioned in today’s Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today devotion, When You’re Tired of Dealing with Change, every new season we walk into can usher in a lot of change, good and bad, and an array of emotions. Constant change, or feeling stuck in a season of life we don’t want to be or feel discontent or unhappy, can cause us to grow weary and leave us feeling not only stuck, but confused about what we’re supposed to do next.
One thing that never changes is that change will always happen. Life will perpetually keep moving forward. So how are we to adjust to each new season? How do we transition well?
āHave I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid;Ā do not be discouraged,Ā for theĀ LordĀ your God will be with you wherever you go.ā
That’s how.
Be strong, Be courageous. Be brave. Be confident. Be filled with faith. Believe in yourself, and believe God is always with you. And then do ‘that thing’ you’ve always wanted to do. Stop wishing things were different, and start making them different. Believe with your whole heart that God’s got you, and you’ve got this!
When we are facing a new season, we can either look at it as the end of a chapter of our life, or a fresh beginning in a new one. Embracing our new beginnings with courage and confidence is a game changer when we want to start anew in the season we are in! If you’ve been in a season of transition, it is time to embrace your new beginning.
My new book releasing today, God’s Got You: Embracing New Beginnings with Courage and Confidence, can help you do exactly that!Ā My prayer when writing this book that the words God gave me to pen would encourage those who are struggling with where they are in life, or those who have a dream in their heart or goals they want to reach, but are lacking the bravery and self confidence to take those first steps.
God’s Got You will help you:
* Identify the stumbling blocks that prevent you from moving forward.
* Use times of transition to become who youāve always wanted to be.
* Feel empowered to pursue the desires and dreams in your heart.
* Map out a life plan for the season ahead.
ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!
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ENTER TO WIN!!
I’m giving away five signed book bundles (pssst… maybe more!!) which will include a signed, hot-off-the-press copy of God’s Got You and a copy of my popular book Love Life Again: Finding Joy When Life is Hard!Ā Randomly selected winners will be announced the week of July 15th here on my blog!Ā Here’s how to enter:
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Leave a comment below sharing the new beginning you’re facing and how this book would encourage you.
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Follow me on Instagram and share my post about my new book, God’s Got You!Ā Be sure to tag @traciemiles!
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(optional) For an extra entry, follow my Author Facebook page and share that post with your friends as well!
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**Psssssttttt! Hey you … yes you … the one who dreams about writing a book herself but is unsure how to get off the blank page, wonders if her story is worth writing about or if being an author and getting published could really be her reality. Questioning if she could really make a difference in the world with her words. If that sounds familiar, I would love to help you start making progress towards making those dreams a reality! If God has given you a dream to write, might it be time to take a chance and go for it?!
Visit me at www.traciemiles.com to check out my Author Coaching Services, and you can even book a free ZOOM call for us to chat about your dreams!
39 Comments
Tracie Miles is a bestselling author and the Director of COMPEL Training with Proverbs 31 Ministries.Ā She helps women grow stronger in their faith, pursue the life of purpose God designed them for and live a life of peace, joy and happiness despite their circumstances.
Tracie's Books
I have an upcoming change professionally that scares me in many ways and excites me. My divorce was hard but a recent breakup with who I thought was someone really special has rocked my spirit some days. Iām fighting to get my confidence and hope back daily. God has been good to me and I try to keep that focus.
My two children are now 18 and 16 and I have been a stay at home Mum all that time . Currently trying to figure out what’s next as I am still needed at home but in a different way. I think this book would help encourage me in the waiting and trust that God has so much more for me in the next season
This blog post is encouraging as Iām in the end stages of a separation which is leading to divorce while my only daughter who Iām so close to heads to college 11 hours away. In the past year, I had to close my business, sell our home and move into an apartment and I have do move again in August. No family close by and so much change has me feeling like I donāt know who I am now. I do know the Lord knows me and sees everything that is happening and sees my every movement so Iām clinging to His faithfulness to provide through all of the difficulties of these last 3 years and of my entire life so when the enemy whispers hopeless things into my heart, I answer back with reminders of Godās provision and goodness. I feel lonely but Iām not truly alone. He is with me.
I guess the most challenging, difficult and painful change Iām facing is the loss of my husband of 34 years. It has been two years four months 10 days. Iāve just recently been corresponding with a gentleman who is definitely interested in us getting together getting to know each other, but Iām afraid, itās scary and Iām not sure what to do about it. Iām not young anymore. Iām 68 years old so maybe thatās part of the issue. I donāt know. Itās just a very scary time in my life right now.
Recovery from a lifetime of emotional abuse and a late in life divorce. Very slowly trying to rebuild my life.
Tricia-I am so sorry! I understand your pain as I am also at the end of a 30 yr emotionally abusive marriage (40 yrs if you count us dating). If you ever want to talk let me know. Praying for you
My husband of 25 years wants a divorce and I am struggling to know who I am without him and my role as his wife. My two adult sons (age 20 and 24) are struggling with the change and their mental health, and even though they have not launched, they no longer want me involved in their lives in the same way so I feel like an empty nester at the same time. I am losing both identities as wife and mother at the same time and this season feels very hard. I think both books in the bundle would help me. Thank you for your blog and devotionals.
Five years ago my husband was diagnosed with head & neck cancerā¦. We have been married for 19 years, worked side by side in our chiropractic clinic for all these years, we have 2 kids one going into high school and one going into middle school, Iām trying to figure out all the new things to parenting these ages, 2 years ago my husbands cancer started to worsen and everyday he continued to see his patients then I took him to appts almost every day for himself, and 18 months ago we said we were taking 2 weeks off work and he was going to start a new treatment, 2 weeks later he almost died and was hospitalized for 26 days had a tracheotomy and our lives completely changedā¦I began physically caring for him and speaking for him, talking to doctors for him, etc. We spent all last summer going to chemo appts, he was so sickā¦and then in Nov he was given 3 mo to live, we had to close our clinic, and prepare for him to possibly die. In March he was put on hospice care and I am caring for him all day everyday, trying to understand how to do everything I always did at home and all the things he always did, (I learned how to use the zero turn mower this summer) I am parenting by myselfā¦. I am thankful for each day we all have together. I am trying to be present and not miss all the things that are of the utmost importance while doing all the daily needs we all have too. I try not to look too far ahead at what might be next, and I try not to worry/think abut tomorrow. My life is forever changing it feels, and I donāt want to have regret for the most important things. I try to keep my eyes on Jesus and my faith, knowing that is the strength that he gives meā¦.I try to stay present and also grieving at the same time, helping my kids to process their grief, which is confusing for all of us at times, yet trying to be as normal as we all can. I just know God has the plan and He will show us one step at a time.
I’m 61 years old and this is the first time I’ve lived alone. I find myself wanting to do things but no desire to get off the couch. Taking care of others is something I’ve done for as long as I can remember, but I don’t, for the life of me, know how to take care of “just” me. In this new season, in a smaller home, a new neighborhood where neighbors keep to themselves, a new church, and no job, I find myself floundering. The wilderness of healing from my childhood trauma and my own mistakes is exhausting. I know God is with me, yet it feels like I’ve been left to battle all this on my own. I know He is faithful. I know I can trust Him. But, if I’m honest, this season is absolutely the loneliest I’ve ever felt and trying to kick my own butt into gear has left me unmotivated at best. I know, I know…is there any cheese to go with all this whining? Any how, thanks for listening and thanks for your own vulnerability to help others! Love your books.
My new beginningā¦ I retired with hopes of starting new chapter of life with husband of 33 years but discovered that person was not there and instead was a bitter angry person who hated his life, me, our kids and chose to abuse alcohol and me. God gave me courage to stand up and say no more to the emotional abuse. We separated and I prayed for his recovery and reconciliation but that didnāt come.
God helped me choose me, learning my part in this destructive marriage and healing my heart. Somehow I received the courage to unpack and purge a 33 year stuffed home over last two years, paint, repair, prepare for sale. It just closed & I closed on new smaller home I can manage.
So now what is next at 62? Retired, empty nester, downsized, moved, in process of divorce- not terms I want to define me anymore. I know God has more planned for me. I just need to be brave.
Divorce after 32 years, move to a condo, a child going through divorce, grandchildren who are rejecting the Lord, and now needing to slow down due to health. Would love to read your new book. God has been with me through each change but it still takes a long time to adjust and still hurts.
Truly, “God’s Got You” is a great title! I want to finally retire and work on my own music compositions to record. Also, my dogs have had blogs for years and now, my dog, Harmony is finally writing a book after years of this blog: http://www.lightheartedlouieblog.com I know that God’s Got This! Thanks for writing this book Tracy!
Surviving as a single mom of 5 whoās been divorced over 7 years now. Adult children are moving back in due to financial hardships. Dealing with an abusive ex spouse and custody issues with my young daughter. Life has always been hard but God has always been gracious to me. I donāt know where I would be if it wasnāt for His goodness. Thank you Tracie for your honesty and vulnerability. It has been a help to me.
I recently turned 60 & am experiencing body changes with new things to deal with. I run a business & need to keep working for next 15 years for financial reasons as very little saved for retirement. I am also still single so face that challenge of dealing with all the changes on my own along with responsibilities.
I have had so much change in the past 3 years- moved to a new place and left home I loved to pursue my husbandās dream to live on a farm. He had an affair and we separated and then divorced last year after 23 years of marriage. My son graduated college in the midst of all the chaos and chsnge of my divorce. I hate where I live now and long to be someplace- any place else but am 5 years from retirement so feel stuck here for at least a few more years. I still feel stuck in general but trying to be positive and grateful and move forward. I have experienced so much change, I am ready for New Beginnings!!
My husband and I are facing health challenges and we have to decide whether we can continue to live in our home of 42 years. So much to do and the enormity of it puts me in paralysis.
Thank you for the devotion you shared in Proverbs 31 – I read it with my daughter who has left home at 15 to study. She is struggling with many things right now but your reminder about Joshua not giving up, and Gods faithfulness to never leave or forsake us spoke volumes and has given us both a renewed strength for the challenges, change, and new beginning that lay ahead.
I have an upcoming change professionally that is pushing me to pack up myself and my daughter and our home as a single mother and move. We will have no family or support and this move will be a test of faith to rely on God. I am scared, Nervous and excited but this seems like a once in a life time opportunity that God created just for me. This book would give me some scripture to rely on and read when things get hard and deep. I am scared but Iām waking in faith.
It’s humbling to read others’ stories about life transitions and challenges. I am an empty nester married to someone who is wed to his job, as much as he says he wants otherwise. I am not currently working and feel like i have no place to belong. We’re considering a move have a slower pace of life but that comes with uncertainty. I know “God’s got this!” and yet I’m like a fish looking for a good place to swim and am lost in the transition.
New beginnings always seem to be on the horizon for me! After a divorce at 38 and starting over professionally and financially within that time frame, most would have thrown up their hands and given up! I am so thankful that at the bottom of my pit that I fell into of self pity and depression that God brought me to my knees and I threw up my hands and gave it all to HIM knowing that He had never left or forsake me and He wouldn’t start now! So thankful as now I am moving towards 60 with health changes and I feel that I am still struggling financially due to starting over so many times but I fully trust God will bring me through as I try to give it all to Him and lean into Him more everyday.
I lost my husband of 36 years on July 3, 2022 to bladder cancer. It was discovered 6 months earlier and unknown to us had metastasized rapidly even after treatment and surgery. What a storm of emotions to go through to find out that he only had days to live! My sweetheart had taken care of all the finances while I homeschooled our 5 kids for 28 years. I had no clue of accounts, login infoā¦. We didnāt even prepare a will. It was like being thrown into a hurricane while trying to mourn the loss of my husband. We moved a lot due to his job in the airlines. No real roots anywhere or relatives nearby, kids are all spread out and grown, only one of them is currently walking with the Lord. Church we attended has fallen apart. Trying to sell my home to move closer to the one daughter that is a believer to help with her family. Iām a young widow of 58, am I to walk alone now? Like one of the other ladies commented,ā Where do I belong? ā
Difficult season starting over in so many areas!
I have always enjoyed watching Godās hand in the changing of the seasons.
I am looking at what Iām going through as just that, changing seasons! He is so sweet to remind us just like Joshua to be āBe Strong and Courageous. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.ā Yes, Even in these Seasons!
He meets us right where we are! Just like the timeliness of this devotional for so many of us to be encouraged to share what we are going through and to pray for each other in these seasons!
My husband and I are preparing for a major life change, he is preparing to begin dialysis. This has been a journey we had hope we would not need to take. We are placing our faith in God and know he has the best plan for us. We are preparing our home for the necessary equipment and supplies that will be needed. This brings n more change as I will need to ādownsizeā and share many items that we have enjoyed and inherited from my mother This has also been more difficult than I imagined. I will have the many wonderful memories forever and know she would want them to go to someone that needed them.
In the last 4 years I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy, our adult kids moved away and I was diagnosed with an eye disease that permanently affected my vision. Now we have been forced to downsize and leave our home of 30 years, and in the middle of the moving process my father suddenly passed away 2 weeks ago. I have anxiety disorder too which makes all these changes even harder to weather.
Iām so tired of change. I want everything to just stay the same. Iām finally coming around to accept the fact that life is constant change but I have to be honest and admit I donāt like it. I know in my heart that God is in control and this will all ultimately be good, but Iām really struggling with letting go of trying to control it all and giving it all up to him. Thank you for the reminder today that I can have courage and move forward because God is with me always and wonāt leave.
Like many others comments have had many life transitions of divorce after many years of marriage, 2 children our of home and youngest struggling to find his path in life, I made the decision to move across the country to a new Job and new place. Change has always been hard with doubts of making the right decisions but I have learned over and over God is there in all of it and listens, cares, and directs our paths. He makes the way courageous and right. it is also comforting to know this isn’t anything he can’t handle for his purpose.
As I get older I’m realizing I need to make some changes in my life, how I live and what I do. I don’t know where to start really, but I guess one small step at a time.
This book couldnāt be more timely in my life. My life fell apart about two and a half years ago when my marriage imploded. I moved myself and my two children into a rental apartment. My first ever rental. I was pregnant at the time and just utterly heartbroken. I eventually lost a job in ministry that I loved and due to that, I had to move my kids and myself in with family. Most of our belongings are in storage. Iām grateful for the love weāve been given and family who have welcomed us with open arms but to say this season isnāt without a lot of discouragement would be a lie. This latest transition happened just a month ago. Just last week I applied to college to pursue a brand new career because prior to my job in ministry, Iād been a stay at home mom for nearly 13 years. To top it off, we are looking at a very long distance move potentially. There are a lot of unknowns. Some big dreams. A dose of fear and a bit of discouragement that needs kicked to the curb. So I just canāt tell you how utterly excited I am for your book. Congratulations on it! I know this wasnāt the story you ever wanted for yourself but God has used you so mightily in many womenās lives. Thank you for sharing so deeply.
Mounting concerns of where I go from here after a car wreck. Worries about physical limitations resulting from the accident. And about finances that are stretched as well.
I have had been my family caregiver for many years , my Father, Brother, and Mother. I did not focus on me. So it has been two years in May since my last assignment ended with my Mother passing. This has left me not knowing who I am. Divorced, middle age and feeling stuck.
First of all, big congrats on getting another book published! We are celebrating you too. š
Your comment in the devotional that we are not starting from scratch but rather continuing from a place where God placed us in a season – really made me stop and ponder. This is a much better point of view than thinking that now I have to start from square one!
The company I work for just completed a massive restructuring that led to very significant layoffs. That was hard to go through on many levels. While I am still with the company and was offered to stay, I have a new role, new team members, and many other new aspects of a work environment even though itās the same company.
I also had to processes several other things, including unexpected, in my personal life. So itās been a season of changes and new beginnings not necessarily always by choice. š
Hi! Congratulations on your new book. Just the title spoke to me and I wanted to know more. I am almost 54 years old – my physical health is declining because I have spent my life taking care of everyone and working hard. I am in the process of trying to strong because my mom and two sisters are not well and have terminal illnesses. I am still raising my youngest child who has an autoimmune disorder but through faith and prayer I have not let that stop him and we travel the country and soon world for him to play wheelchair tennis. I have 2 older children and 11 grandchildren – I am blessed. God has spoken to me for years about mission work and I have tried to tell Him I have so much on me, I will wait until my son graduates in a couple of years. God has repeatedly over the last few months said, “why wait” and I have decided I am not going to wait. I have started close to home with a card and phone ministry – where I check on others and send out cards. I have already done one speaking event a few years ago and I hope one day I can do another. I feel like I have so much to share. Ok, sorry that I have gone on and on. Again, congratulations and keep up the good work. Have a blessed week.
Wow. I thought I was going through transition, again, alone, and yet here are so many women experiencing significant change, expressed so very differently in each of our lives. Thank you for giving us an opportunity to learn from you and the Lord, Tracie! In a nutshell, I’m walking through these changes with the Lord: job eliminated > career transition at age 60; youngest of 3 children graduating college > empty nesting; all 3 children walking independently from the Lord > role modeling just how much the Lord loves them and praying they they’ll return to Him. I am waiting on the Lord to give me a vision of where He wants me to make a difference in this next stage of life. I’d love to learn from your book how to “Map out a life plan for the season ahead.” Looking forward to looking forward and becoming who the Lord created me to be at this time and stage!
I too am so tired of change. āIt wasnāt supposed to be this way!ā Laughable now. Itās my new normal. Was a stay-at-home /homeschooling mom whose husband decided to implode his life with bad decisions. Separated, living alone in a house full of memories that needs repaired and sold. Stepped back into a career when my friends are all retiring. Children going through their own life crises, aging parents that need more attention and help, and figuring out how to support myself financially and find the joy in life. Health issues that wonāt go away. Most days I talk to God about why things arenāt being resolved. I long too much for the other side of eternity and struggle with knowing my purpose through all of this. Iāve worked hard on myself and have made some noticeable changes in my attitude and way I deal with life, but I thought things would be different by now. Nope, not at all like I thought life would be at this stage. Tracie, we NEED your message and your open heart to help us find the peace in the pain that God offers us. Thank you for helping us find hope.
My new beginning is starting my life over from being with my high school sweetheart for 40 yrs. His anger came to a peak about 18 months ago and he asked for a divorce, then left a threatening note on my fridge-kicking me out. My 25 yo daughter moved out with me and my 29 yo son stopped talking to me and his sister. During this same time I found out he was expecting the first grandchild to the family. Definitely need encouragement for where my life is headed as my family is so divided.
After working for 35 years, I am praying about next steps for retirement. I have enjoyed engaging with young people (I teach college) and know I need to stay active and involved with others in some way when I retire. Over the years I have thought about writing about my momās life, but hesitate as there are so many great writers: āwho would even care to read what I write?ā Reading the comments above, I am moved to pray for these ladies. Their struggles seem greater than my concerns.
Iām letting go of what my life should have been and grabbing a hold of God who holds my hand and future. I believed God could restore my husband but at this point it doesnāt look like it and Iām being called to move on and create a new life and be ok with it. Itās so scary!
Oh wow where do I begin. This morning I have been in tears and I āGod where are you leading me?ā I am going through a divorce and that is such a common place in life that people around just think it is easy just pick up the pieces and move on. I am alone in so many ways, no support , just me and God and I finding it difficult. I want to move on but I also keep holding on to something that is not even there. I talk to my Heavenly Father all the time, but He just isnāt answering it would seen. In my heart I know He cares. I know He does. Pls God hold my hands!!!
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