"Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Isaiah 30:21
Isaiah 30:21
When I graduated from high school and left Allendale, Michigan to come to Marion, Indiana in 1999 I never looked back. Sure, I missed my few close friends, but I really had no desire to ever return - it wasn't hard to say goodbye. This was because I never really invested...I kept myself at a distance, afraid to open up and get hurt. I was afraid to be vulnerable because I tried that before and was hurt several times.
I definitely wouldn't say that I had figured it out by college, but I would like to think that I was more invested than high school. I am not sure where I started to learn that it was OK to be vulnerable, and that pain was not necessarily a bad thing - it instead meant that my heart was open. I think it is a process in my life that is actually still taking place as I realized that opening myself up and feeling pain is necessary. For example, when our office administration left, it meant that those people touched my life, and that a part of me would always remain with them.
Stephen is resigning from being the pastor at Jonesboro Main Street Wesleyan. And my heart is breaking. It is mourning my job, the friends we have in the community, my sisters and brother and their families, our invovlement in our district, the people in our church. I have been volnerable. I have invested. And it hurts.
But you know, I feel like God is nudging me say "Michelle, you have not been vulnerable enough." So, here we go, having no confirmed plans where we are going to go or where we will live, but God is challenging me to trust. He wants me to grieve, and to give of myself again. Surrender. Sacrifice. Starting over.
It's hard.
"This is the way; walk in it."
7 comments:
Wow. May the Lord richly reward your faithfulness to his calling, and may you clearly hear his voice directing your way.
Praying for you all during this transition. I hope that everything goes smoothly.
We'll be praying for you guys and trusting that God will lead you in His perfect plan.
We will definitely be praying for you on our end. Love you all and hope that God will continue to reveal himself, and His plans, to you.
Sometimes God asks us to do things that don't make sense ... but he asks us to trust in Him. You are there now - continue to trust in Him.
I will be praying for you guys. Have you heard the song Revelation by Third Day? It's a great song to listen to and i think it will give you some encouragement in this hard time. Love you guys and if there is anything i can do for you let me know!
Change is always hard! I will be praying for you guys and that God will direct you and that His voice will be clear. Thank you for being so open to us on your blog! God has been teaching me about vulnerbility lately too! It would be good to talk sometime together about it all! Hopefully, if go camping like we said we would this summer!
Not easy. But one of my friend said, we all live in the common country called the INTERNET. I am sure you will still be in touch with your community.
May God be involved with the decisions that you all will be making!
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