Leadership transitions can be drawn out and difficult, at least in my experience. So when the time came to transition from church leadership back into a writing ministry, I was anxious to begin the process right away.

Since we were also in the middle of a move, I entered my transition season off tilt. Hoping to avoid problems, I arranged my new schedule around the move and dedicated a full week to unpacking. Two weeks later, a mass of bulging boxes still populated our garage.

I chaffed with impatience.

I had so many ideas for writing projects. “Lord, I just want to move forward!” I said as I prayed for guidance as to which projects to pursue. But a host of unexpected tasks seemed to sabotage every attempt to start anything new. First there were half-a-dozen trips to Target for brackets, bolts, shelves, and supplies. Then trips to Home Depot. Then off to the grocery store. Every day held the same rhythm — start, stall, stop — until I thought I’d scream with frustration.

Quit pushing.

The Lord’s voice barely pinged my radar. I felt like every drop of life-giving, creative juice within me was getting sucked into the empty boxes lining the driveway, into the endless trips into town, into the myriad of meals required at the end of what felt like 36-hour days.

Finally the unpacking pace slowed. My office was in place, but my thoughts were scattered. Though I had carefully preserved my quiet time throughout the ordeal, I struggled to focus. I felt exhausted, but restless. Too tired to think, but too agitated to be still.

Does any of this sound familiar? No matter how much we plan, leadership transitions are often difficult and unpredictable. They require a commitment to patience and flexibility, an allegiance to God’s agenda over our own.

Before we can experience the transformation that God has built into our seasons of transition, we have to stop fighting its bumpy process. Because I was impatient to get started on a new path, I made the transition especially difficult—for me and my family.

Perhaps you need a “do over” as much as I do. Perhaps you need a chance to remember pacing and prayer and the power of God in your own transition season.

Here are three steps for a strong new start:

Allow time to heal.

No matter how wonderful or wounding your prior ministry, allow time for letting go. Of roles and routines. Of hurts or damaged relationships. Of a love for sameness and familiarity. Of being in the loop of prior ministry concerns. Of unrealized dreams or regret over what could have been.

By leaping straight into a new season, I missed God’s liberating “Selah,” the opportunity to pause, process, and purify my heart before moving ahead.

Allow time to just sit and “be.”

No agenda, no prayers for guidance. Just sitting in a quiet place letting our minds wander unscripted into whatever avenues unfold. Whether it’s reflecting on the prior season, admiring the beauty in the trees around us, or simply staring into space thinking about nothing. About everything.

By skipping this restorative step, I missed the opportunity to decompress, declutter my heart and mind, and to prepare to hear from God.

Allow time to think and pray.

Perhaps you know where God is leading you for the next season of ministry or perhaps not. Either way, we can look beyond what is familiar and ask questions like:

Because I ran ahead of God, my leadership efforts stemmed from my own strength resulting in burnout — before I even got started!

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I know being still isn’t easy, but be encouraged. While inactivity may suggest a lack of movement, it doesn’t reflect a lack of growth. As counterintuitive as it sounds, allowing space to rest, reflect, and process carries us forward. And it’s in that space that transformation takes place as God knits ministry seasons together to empower our work for him and finish his work in us. It just takes a little patience. And patience does its best work when it’s given time to grow.

Bethany Macklin is a writer and speaker who is passionate about painting a Biblical portrait of God through words that breathe hope, purpose, and power into the lives of women. Her writing has appeared in Focus on the Family and Today’s Christian Woman and she writes Bible studies on God’s attributes, including God’s Heart: My Harbor. You can find out more and follow her blog where she shares stories to anchor women in God’s heart. www.bethanymacklin.com