Rick Torresen uses a tidal inlet rescue to explain how life transitions work like moving from shallow to deep water. He recommends identifying hidden obstacles and seeking wise counsel from people who've been through similar changes.
Hey, welcome back. My friends, I'm excited to share with you today something that we all have to go through and that we all face throughout our lives. And that's those places of transition. You know, how we go through the transition oftentimes has a lot to do with how we come out the other side. You know, life is a series of transitions and how you prepare to go through. It's key to how you're going to come out the other side. You've got to go through in order to go up. Have you ever been deep sea fishing or on a boat as it moves from the shallows of the bay to the depth of the ocean? These places, they're often called inlets. Inlets are small entry points or transition points in a body of water. Now, if you ask any boat captain and I have what they think about these inlets or transition points from the shallows to the depths, they will tell you that they can be some of the most dangerous areas to navigate. You see, it's in these inlets of transition that two converging forces are colliding together. These narrow straits are the place where you have two opposing currents and they're meeting head on. This is not a calm place. The water swirls and the undertow is powerful. These inlets of transition can be difficult to navigate. Let me share a personal story about me being caught in one of these inlets. One of our favorite places to vacation is in Florida along the Gulf Coast. We love to go down to Sanibel and Captiva island and one year, my brother in law and I, we love to fish and we love to wade fish. So we'll fish off the, off the shore in one of our favorite beaches. And we like to fish where there's an inlet from the bay to the ocean and it's a narrow pass of water. And when the tides change, it's the best time for fishing because that's when the fish are moving and they're feeding. And I remember one time that we were fishing and I was on the shore, I'm casting out and fishing and boats were navigating and fishing through and I heard these screams and this yell and it was these women that were yelling, they were on a boat and one was hanging off the edge of the boat and I could see a bobbing of a small child who had fallen into the water in this inlet. She was being pulled quickly away from the boat and I remember dropping my pole, but I still had the harness around that had the minnows in it. And I Had that with me. And I ran into the water, and I pursued her to try to catch up to her and hang on to her, not knowing what I was running into. And I remember the water wasn't really deep where she was. My toes could barely touch, but the current was ferocious, and I kept getting my legs sucked out from under me. I reached her, and I was holding onto her, and I was half underwater, holding her above the water until they could get the boat to rescue her. But the current there was so powerful. I was in this inlet of transition, these two converging forces, and the waves were overwhelming. Fortunately, I'm sitting here talking to you. So we survived and she survived. But it was a scary moment in time. Have you ever been through a transition in your personal life or a situation, your life or your career, that was scary, that seemed overwhelming, that you felt like your legs were being taken out from underneath you? So what was it like? How well did you navigate it? Would you do anything differently if you had to do it again? Transitions, man, they're hard. They can be defined as a passage from one stage or state or subject or place to another. All transitions involve change. And if not navigated well, it can result in several things. It can result in crisis or confusion. It can result in conflict or confrontation. I want to share with you quickly just two things that will help you to successfully navigate the transitions of our lives. The first thing is you need to recognize the obstacles, those hidden sandbars that can flip the boat over if you don't understand the timing of the waves and the breaking of the waves. And the second thing is we need to honor the past, and we need to see yesterday as the foundation for tomorrow. The way we do that is we seek the wisdom of those who have gone before us. When we seek wise counsel, we can prevent wrong decisions. I don't think you should be afraid of the transitions in our lives. Those transitions are a signpost. They are telling us and encouraging us to move from where we are to where we want to be. To get to the deep water, you've got to go through transitions. How many of you have been spending a lot of your time in the bay? How many of you have been satisfied in settling for the status quo of the shallow water? You've heard me say, if you've listened to any of these messages, that we were all created for more, that there's more in our lives. No matter how successful we are or how challenged we are in the moment, there's more. I don't know what your more is. I've said this many times, but together we are exploring and discovering that more that we were called to and created to. But to get to, the more we've got to go through transitions. Transitions are those stretch places, right? Those places that stretch us, that stretching is never fun. Stretching is a place of discomfort and pain. But to grow, things need to stretch. So I want to encourage you as you come to transitions, as you see transitions coming, as you are trying to move from the shallow water of the bay to the deep water of the ocean, that you embrace the transition. But don't look at that transition lightly. Don't go through that transition without seeking wise counsel, without understanding the currents that you're about to face. Because transitions, although positive and can lead to great things, are never easy. So, my friends, I thank you for being a part of this community. I thank you for sharing your time with me today. I know it's valuable and I hope these messages have been helpful. I hope they've been positive and life giving to you. And if so, would you share it with your friends? Would you help us grow this community? I would appreciate that. So until next time, I'm Rick Torresen and I'm believing your best is yet to come.
