What-if? Just what if a slight move or turn would create a shift in our thinking that freed us to see from a new perspective and make space for fresh momentum?
As a child I was given a wonderful gift of a kaleidoscope. I loved it’s magical qualities. I could put my eye to one end, lift it to the sky, oh the beauty. Or I could hold it facing the ground and it became sombre. I could give the opposite end of the kaleidoscope a twist and a whole new form of shapes and beauty emerged.
As an adult, I came to collect kaleidoscopes. I loved how they spoke to me of 1. The beauty found in brokenness, 2. The power of reflection 3. A slight twist created a different and new perspective. This became a metaphor for finding what was needed when I was stuck in challenging situations not just in life also in leadership.
I love the book of Habakkuk. Habakkuk was a What-if man of God! We begin the book of Habakkuk with his deep, and desperate question,
“ How long, O Lord, must I call for help?
But You do Not Listen.”
And as we come to the end of the book of Habakkuk, we see his emphatic shift in thinking and action.
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
And there are no grapes on the vines;
Even though the olive crop fails,
And the fields lie empty and barren;
Even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,
YET
I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me, as sure footed as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.”
We have to question, how did Habakkuk make such a huge leap in his thinking and outlook? Here was a broken man, who knew to run to his high tower, to pause before God, to even argue with God until he could come to some resolution and then shout that from the rooftops to all who would listen as he acknowledged his strength came from God.
If that is not a twist of the kaleidoscope, I don’t know what is.
Can you define where you are stuck? Where you just can’t see any other way? Describe a situation that you are presently facing that makes you feel stuck? Get it on paper or computer. Give it a slight twist by editing it down to the facts, acknowledge how you feel about it. Seek God’s heart and perspective, argue if you have must, to come to clarity. Now reflect on one thing that has become clear and what will you do with that fresh clarity? Practice gratefulness, even praise and share it with all who God brings into your sphere of influence.
This is the kind of kaleidoscope, What-if thinking you will be challenged to grapple with as you choose to read What-if Leadership Journal, The intentional pursuit of knowing, being and doing. Come be inspired, become more integrated as you find yourself being transformed and pouring out in fresh ways into the lives of others.
PS Just think, What-If you read the whole book of Habakkuk and let God speak to you from the depths of Habakkuk’s life.
