When I married my husband 11 years ago, he was going to school to learn the Bible, he went on several mission trips to; Russia and Japan. I knew his heart was the ministry, I knew his heart was missions, but I was in serious denial. I knew God would use him, I knew God would send him, but surely He (God) would allow me to stay right where I was at.
I mean, The Great Commission, doesn't apply to all of us right? It only applies to those that are "called" right? Nope, Matthew 28:19 says, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” God doesn't just say, preachers and missionaries, but we are all to go.
In 2011 we were called to go to Montana, and after a short battle with God, I surrendered (Andrew was already ready to go) and we moved to Montana in 2012. We met many wonderful friends many who became family to us, and we still treasure those relationships today. We served in Montana for 2 years, when God brought us back to Kentucky. We did not know why, and we did not quite understand His plan. We know, though, God has a plan for everything He does. For the next 2 years, we kinda wandered in the desert. We did not know what God was going to have us to do, but we wanted to be faithful to Him. We prayed and sought Him. We had several interviews with different churches, and every time, they went with someone else. To say that frustration had set in would be an understatement. We still knew God had a plan, and we (I, because I have a harder time with change), planned to be ready when God called. When I prayed, I prayed God to send us, and I will go wherever He would lead.
This prayer was hard, because what if His plan was to move far away, or I had to make hard decisions, what if I struggled with His plan?
This beautiful new ornament has a story of change. In August, Andrew interviewed at First Baptist Church Brandenburg. We immediately felt like this was our home. We loved the people from the beginning, and was welcomed right in, even before he got the job. A couple of weeks after interviewing Andrew got the call and was offered the youth and children's ministers position. In early September we packed up, and moved to our new home. It was a smooth transition, the girls love their new school, Andrew is loving being in the church everyday, I did my student teaching with a wonderful kindergarten teacher, and we have made many new friends, who are quickly becoming family.
So, while change still make me nervous, change is not a bad thing. 2016 was a great year, with wonderful change, and I cannot wait to see what God has in store for 2017. God always has a plan, we need only to rely on Him, lean into Him when that plan starts taking place, and seek Him in all plans that we make.
Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. Psalm 37:5
