July 28, 2026
By Mark Rowan
Life is full of transitions.
Some arrive unexpectedly through loss, disappointment, or circumstances beyond our control. Others come through milestones we celebrate, such as marriage, retirement, launching a career, or becoming an empty nester. Regardless of how they arrive, seasons of transition often leave us asking one question:
What's next?
In a recent episode of the 2000 Cubit Rule podcast, Mark Rowan sat down with Ann Scherer, ordained pastor, certified Christian coach, life transition coach, and founder of Coaching You Forward. Their conversation explored how God uses life's transitions to shape our purpose, deepen our faith, and prepare us for what He has next.
Ann's story begins with challenges that could have easily defined her life.
Adopted at birth and later navigating life as a single mother, she wrestled with feelings of rejection and insecurity. Like many people who have experienced difficult circumstances, she found herself seeking validation through achievement and serving others.
Yet through those struggles, God was preparing her for a future she could not yet see.
As Ann reflected on her journey, she shared how the Lord used church community, mentors, and personal encounters with His love to transform her perspective. Rather than allowing rejection to become her identity, she learned to find her identity in Christ.
Today, that testimony serves as a source of encouragement for the women she coaches through similar challenges.
One of the most powerful moments in Ann's story came when she realized that serving God and knowing God are not always the same thing.
For years she immersed herself in church activities, ministries, and service opportunities. While those things were good, they eventually became a substitute for deeper intimacy with the Lord.
A pivotal moment came during a concert when she heard a song about becoming God's woman.
Sitting alone in her car afterward, she wept before the Lord and surrendered her desire to please people in exchange for a deeper relationship with Him.
That moment became a turning point.
Instead of focusing on being busy, she began focusing on being fruitful.
For many Christian leaders, entrepreneurs, and ministry workers, that distinction is critical. Activity does not always equal obedience. Productivity does not always equal purpose.
God often calls us to slow down long enough to hear His voice before taking our next step.
Through Coaching You Forward, Ann specializes in helping women who feel stuck during major life transitions.
These transitions may include:
Many women arrive feeling uncertain about who they are or what comes next.
Ann helps them discover clarity by asking thoughtful questions, identifying limiting beliefs, and uncovering the unique gifts God has already placed within them.
Rather than simply giving answers, she helps clients recognize the answers God has already been revealing.
One of the distinctions Ann highlighted is the difference between counseling, pastoral care, and coaching.
Pastoral care often focuses on nurturing spiritual growth and applying biblical truth to life's challenges.
Coaching focuses on helping individuals identify where they are today, where they want to go, and what obstacles stand in the way.
Through active listening and powerful questions, coaching helps uncover hidden assumptions and false narratives that often keep people stuck.
Many people discover that the greatest obstacle isn't their circumstance.
It's the voice they've been listening to.
Whether that voice came from past experiences, criticism, rejection, or fear, those internal narratives can become barriers to growth.
Coaching creates space to identify those voices and replace them with truth.
One area where Ann provides significant support is helping women navigate the empty nest season.
For many mothers, raising children has been a primary assignment for decades. When children leave home, it can create an identity crisis.
Questions begin to surface:
Ann helps women recognize that while assignments change, purpose remains.
The gifts, passions, and calling God placed inside them have not disappeared.
In many cases, a new season simply creates space for those gifts to emerge in fresh ways.
Rather than viewing an empty nest as an ending, Ann encourages women to see it as a beginning.
Throughout the conversation, one verse repeatedly surfaced:
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19)
That verse serves as a reminder that God is always working, even when we cannot fully see the path ahead.
The challenge is not whether God is moving.
The challenge is whether we perceive it.
At the heart of the 2000 Cubit Rule is the belief that we must create space for God to lead. Like the Israelites following the Ark of the Covenant into unfamiliar territory, we often find ourselves walking roads we've never traveled before.
The good news is that God already knows the way.
When we trust Him, stay close to His voice, and remain willing to follow His leading, we discover that even life's most difficult transitions can become pathways to purpose.
If you're in a season of transition, uncertainty, or feeling stuck, take encouragement from Ann Scherer's story.
Your current season is not the end of the story.
God is still writing it.
What feels like a wilderness today may become the very place where God provides streams of refreshment, clarity, and direction for tomorrow.
Trust Him. Stay faithful. Keep listening.
He may already be doing a new thing.
Connect with Ann Scherer:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachannscherer/
https://linktr.ee/coachannscherer
Every meaningful transition begins with clarity.
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Tags
Ann Scherer, coaching, empty nest, Life Transitions
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