Serendipity Brought Us Together. Is It Calling You? (Guest Blog by Michelle Pavasars)
“So, what do you do?”
A simple question asked of the woman sitting beside me at a wedding rehearsal over five years ago.
A simple question that launched me into the next thing God was calling me to in my coaching journey.
I am the bride’s childhood best friend. She, the groom’s sister-in-law. Now we journey together in this world of coaching… believing in the serendipity, or “God-incidence,” of that day… embracing the joy of walking alongside others as they seek change, growth, and transformation.
God continues to unfold my coaching journey one step at a time.
That moment five years ago introduced me to Cindy Scott and led me to Bridges Coaching. I began with the Destiny by Design course, and simply kept saying, “yes” to each next thing… Coaching Training, Accelerated Coach Training, being a peer pair facilitating coach, the NXL Advanced Coach Training, and various coaching opportunities along the way.
Learning about coaching… being coached… and coaching others… has helped me grow as a person, as a spouse, as a mother, as friend, and as a leader.
Two key elements of coaching are Active Listening and Powerful Questions.
Coach training has made me a better listener. In what ways might you bless those around you with the gift of active listening?
It has positively changed how I approach challenges in my own life. I ask myself more powerful questions that move me toward transformational changes.
I seek to use powerful questions to engage and encourage those around me, communicating with them my belief in them and freeing myself from the “need” to be the answer person. How might learning this skill free you up at work? At home? In volunteer service roles? While at the same time, empowering those around you?
Is this your serendipity moment?
Have you heard about Coach Training before and wondered, “Is this for me? Is this the right time?”
Is God’s quiet voice whispering to you, “Yes.”?
If God is bringing you to it, it will be a blessing. You may “become a coach” in the formal sense. Or you may simply grow in new ways that will transform you more and more into who God is calling you to be. He never leaves us where we are at. He always has a plan.
As for me…
My coaching journey continues… as I coach my teenage children… as I seek to live out a coaching leadership style at work… as I listen closely, ask curious questions, and trust those around me in their own journeys. As I read coaching books and serve with Bridges Coaching, helping train others.
And…on occasion… when I “coach.”
Editor's Note: Michelle Pavasars loves putting her coaching skills into action in her role as the Executive Director for KINDLE (a faith-based non-profit), as wife, mom to two teenagers, friend, and as an Associate Coach with Bridges Coaching.
If you'd like to learn more about Bridges Coaching, join us at our ZOOM Open House! on January 16, 10:00 a.m. EST!