Have you ever noticed patterns in your life?

In my teens and early twenties, I noticed a pattern that every two years a major change would come along. It could be a new job, new relationship, or a new primary hobby. Because I knew that pattern, when a two-year time period was coming to an end, I would start to get ready for something to change. I started looking for new opportunities. I let certain relationships wind down a bit, and I began reordering my life for a move.

When I expected change and transition, I unknowingly gave-in to a season of being unsettled. Then, being unsettled often helped lead me towards a change. What a cycle!

Years ago, I was approaching the two-year mark at a job I deeply enjoyed. My team and I were on a work trip doing a seminar on personal and team development. When my time came to share, I explained my two-year pattern and the unsettling feeling that I was starting to have. It had me questioning if it was time to move to a new job or location.

After listening carefully, one teammate responded, “Why don’t you just settle in?” I was a bit confused, so I asked what he meant. He continued, “Just choose to stay. What if you choose to stay in this role and settle in a bit more? Maybe you’ll like being here longer than two years.”

It seemed so simple, but I knew it was more difficult, especially for a 20-something. Just choose to stay. Just choose to accept what is and what I have. What would it look like if I chose to stay?

Many of us know the passage in Ecclesiastes 3 that says for everything there is a season. There is a time to plant, heal, mourn, and seek. There is a season to move on to something new and there is a season to stay and settle in.

The passage in Ecclesiastes 3 continues:

He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. (Eccles. 3:11-12)

The last few years may have settled you in some ways and unsettled you in other ways. These pandemic years have certainly brought more changes than we could have imagined for this season of our lives. It may even be time for you to consider a significant change.

I am asking myself the question, and I wonder if you might consider it as well: Even in the midst of change, transitions, and pandemics, what would it look like if I chose to settle in more during this season? What is God asking me to press into? For however long it is, why don’t I settle in a bit more?

Friend, let’s not let our circumstances, extended pandemics, or other factors unsettle us. We know the One who knows all the things, so let’s settle in and enjoy what He has given us right now.