Significant transitions are taking place in individual lives, in governments, and within the Church. To successfully navigate these times of transition will require that we pass a test.

A few miles south of where I live are the Siskiyou Mountains. These mountains are the geological dividing line between Oregon and California. In the 1800s these mountains separated the Oregon Territory from Spanish California. To those who lived in the 1800s, the Siskiyou Mountains were called the Boundary Mountains.

The Siskiyous, aka the Boundary Mountains, reminds me of a concept in leadership theory called a Boundary Event. Passing successfully through the boundaries that mark each significant season of life and responsibility will require that we pass an integrity check somewhere in the boundary passage. Many times these acts of integrity are unseen and unrecognized by all except the one making the passage. Passing these tests is the hallmark of a life that has the potential to finish well.

Many are looking for the big breakthrough moment where some courageous act or significant contribution will help them navigate successfully from one season to the next. In searching for the big and significant, they can miss the more important, almost hidden acts of integrity that are what release the Lord’s favor. Those acts of integrity allow us to gain the spiritual elevation required to cross the summit of a transition.

Do not ignore the smallest acts of integrity. A single act of integrity will provide the spiritual traction needed to conquer the steepest of life’s grades and take us up and over the obstacles set before us. These successful passages will mark the major boundary events of our lives and define our legacy.