Nothing quite shakes up our mental wellness like change. A new job. Bringing home a baby from the hospital. An injury that changes the course of your athletic scholarship. Losing a job. A car mishap that financially tests your wallet. A marriage. A divorce. A diagnosis that changes everything. A loss. A house move. All of these can shake us to our core and sometimes leave scars and heartbreak, but as wildcards have come my way, I’ve found that change can be both hard and beautiful.
Let’s be real. The beauty of change takes time. For instance, you can’t lose a pet and suddenly feel that all is well in the world a few days later. Pain is just as important as joy, and we must take proper time to name it, acknowledge it, and maybe even settle into it for a while before we can grow from it. And just to be clear, your “while” may be vastly different from my “while,” and that, too, is okay.
But slowly, one day at a time, the sunshine begins to seep in and present an unforeseen glimmer of beauty where we can finally rest in the fact that what was once hard then is now casting hope, peace, understanding, and sometimes even a new perspective. And if the beauty hasn’t presented itself just yet for you, I urge you to hold on. It’s coming.
This idea comes from a shift in career that I personally experienced in 2025. After nearly two decades of schooling, working, and pouring my heart into what I once thought was my forever career, I felt the urge to pivot. Easy was the last word that came to mind in that moment of questioning. The hard conversations with my loved ones and colleagues, the tears that were shed during therapy sessions and over friend dinner conversations, the spiritual warfare that tricked my mind daily, and most notably, the feeling of letting down my children who idolized their mother for her profession. I battled these thoughts and uncertainties for years, but I can mark the day that my mindset shifted.
I sat in a local coffee shop one morning, pouring my heart out to a Bible Study friend as she calmly said to me, “We often think our calling is one word or one thing, but that was not God’s intent. In fact, Jesus himself changed jobs from carpenter to teacher.” It was in that moment that I slowly gave myself the grace to be patient with my work struggles and broaden my thoughts of who I was and what talents God gave me.
Fast forward to today, and I can proudly say that I am in a new career field. While there are similarities to my former work, this new work came with vast differences and learning, of course. And while I’m incredibly grateful to be here, I’d be lying if I said the road of change wasn’t bumpy at first. The hard changes were a force to be reckoned with for my whole family via hours, kid drop-offs and pickups, losing touch with old colleagues, and dealing with some identity crisis. But thankfully, those same changes brought beauty over time via flexibility, beautiful humans that I now call colleagues, new adventures, a newfound purpose and mission, and a much healthier lifestyle.
Perspective is powerful. Gratitude is powerful. But if you’re in the thick of change, it’s not always easy to see the other side. Nonetheless, find hope in your sources of strength, lean on family and friends when you can’t stand, and know that beauty or understanding will come.