A passing fad in business management circles a decade ago was the idea that people went through their professional lives in a in a series of phases marked by turns. Conceptually the idea was very appealing. Individuals developed until there was a turning point, which then marked a new stage of growth. During the assessment, our discussions focused on individual turning points. How did individuals actually make a turn? Was there a single event in their life that was a driver? Did anyone plan to turn or did it just happen?
With the fad slipping into business lore, for me only the questions remain. As I look at specific turning points across individual lives, I see a pattern emerging. In a crazy event with an earthquake, prisons free by not leaving, and chaos, a jailor’s life turned upside down. One record describes the moment where his life turned. “The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, ‘Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?’” (Acts 16.29)
I shared a meal with a good friend the other night. As we talked about life’s core, he challenged my assumptions. How do you know? What evidence do you have? Are you sure that your conclusions are based on facts?
My framework of seeing those around me shifted. I do not know the answers, however I do know that I need to think through life in a different way.
There is something the jailor and I shared in common.
We experienced life without filters touching our hearts. In his case, it was Paul and Silas living out their principles. In my case, it was the experience of hearing with my heart. A turn occurs with our hearts experience transformation. Whatever the source, when our way of seeing life is altered by the events in our lives, an opportunity to turn appears.
I do not know where this turn will take me. Turns are opportunities to reach.
