Arrows

Welcome back Friends! I’ve missed being in this space with you. My time away was so full - of family, of dreaming, and of new possibilities. It was such a crazy idea, to take a month long break from writing and building community here. But that month was so very needed. It helped me to process where I’ve been and imagine where I am going. Here is what I’ve been up to:

My family - all of the Rickleses - were able to be together for the first time since Christmas of 2019. SO much had happened since we were together, and our two weeks were full and joyous and like coming home to one another.

I have recently been given an amazing opportunity to work on a freelance project with my sister. Y’all - I am getting paid to write words! I cannot even stand it! It is truly a dream come true, and it has opened my eyes to the possibility of using my full self in my work.

I also spent a lot of time visioning and processing the next season of my life. I have known for a long time that God was moving me toward something new. But I had grown frustrated because I can’t yet see the end of this journey. I have prayed and planned and prepared and researched and experimented, but I didn’t have a detailed sense of what I am heading toward.

It has been like getting on an airplane without knowing my final destination. How do I properly prepare and pack? Do I need shorts and flip flops or boots and a heavy coat? What do I need to understand about the culture I will be immersed in? How many pairs of socks do I need to pack? Honestly, I let the uncertainty and the lack of control get inside my head.

During the past month though, I took a deep breath - several deep breaths actually. I refocused and returned to a practice I learned from author Emily P Freeman - “following the arrows.” She shares in her book, The Next Right Thing, about a time of uncertainty in her family’s life. When they looked for answers, all they could see were arrows, and so they began to follow them. The arrows led them out of the uncertainty and into their next season - but it took time.

When I moved to the Birmingham area in 2019, my path was paved with arrows. I longed to know the ending. Could I get a mortgage by myself? Could we find a house I could afford? Could we start over again? So I followed that first arrow - it’s time to move closer to your family. I shared with the boys my longing, and they wholeheartedly agreed! At that time, it was entirely too early to begin looking for houses for my schedule. So we followed that next arrow - begin preparing AS IF the move would happen. Boy that was a scary one! But we started clearing out and packing up what we could. When the time came though, we found a mortgage company and a realtor, and I got preapproved. Then came the struggle of finding a house in the neighborhood I wanted. I looked at and fell in love with multiple houses in a market that moved very quickly (although not as crazy as the market now!) Then my parents heard of a house in their neighborhood that was about to go up for sale. And we followed that arrow and put a contract on the house before it ever went up for sale! Trusting and following the arrows God put in front of us led us to our new home - one that I bought and owned all by myself.

Seeing evidence of God’s guidance and delight in surprising us with good gifts has been a grace story I’ve told ever since. And now I am again following arrows. I know God is drawing me toward purposeful and fruitful ministry. I just can’t see it yet. And so I am following the arrows - the discovery of spiritual formation as a lens for ministry, the mentorship from my former pastor, the hope*writers community, the spiritual direction program at Metagem Institute, learning to teach in a whole new way, and a calling to pastoral ministry that I cannot ignore.

The arrows are there, God is working in me and, I think, through me. I can’t see how the pieces will all fit together, but God is a master artist.

I will leave you with a question and a quote. First, the question: what arrows are you following today as you move forward into an area you can’t quite figure out?

And now the quote, from Emily P. Freeman’s The Next Right Thing:

When you catch a tiny glimpse of the future, be sure not to smother it with your own agenda. Let it breathe. Let it grow at a healthy pace. Admit it’s both delightful and terrifying. As you take your next right step today, trust that God won’t let you miss your own future. Follow the arrows.