This weekend I was privileged to spend some time with people that I have served with in the past, not present, but the ever distant past. I miss them to say the least.
In one place it seemed that all areas of ministry past were present. It is hard to wrap my brain around it. My former youth pastor's wife and dear friend, Laurel, A friend that I worked on staff with in Springfield, Kim, and Marice who just recently left our ministry here in Abilene to start a church with her husband. Life collided and God brought forth a harvest.
In coming home from this trip I feel more grown.
I was talking with Laurel and the flow of conversation was so easy. When I left Houston, Texas and Cornerstone Baptist Church, I thought my life would change. I did not know that it would change to this extent. I think back to those days and my faith was just sprouting. I would have been so overwhelmed if God showed me the picture of life now, without all the people that I loved so much. I fear that if I could only have seen a picture I could not have followed through. It was a process I had to learn step by step. Today Laurel is a Pastor's wife in Alabama. I watched as her ladies loved on her with tears streaming down my face. She is in God's will and so am I...separated to serve. Our loss for his greater good. She sent me an e-mail this morning and said that in Heaven our mansions will be next door and our windows will be open so we can chat all day. That would be great fun.
Working and going to school in Springfield was a great time in life. It had great ups and great downs. We learned so much working on staff for the first time. The fact that someone even wanted to hire us was just beyond our imagination. God is good. Seeing Kim and her sweet daughter Jordan brought back all those first years. Jordan was in our junior high youth and now she is a college freshmen. She is a beautiful young lady.
Marcie, is reading this, so I don't want to be too mushy. She just left Abilene a few months ago, 3 to be exact. I miss her daily. I am learning to do life without her around. She was my shopping buddy and after church communication (our husbands usually lock up the buildings). I watched her and her husband, Sean, in their church on Sunday and as they were doing their thing I realized...separated to serve. How my heart misses that crazy girl.
God's way is beautiful and so mysterious. He called us each to do something different and even in different places and to different people. I will even go as far as to say with different kinds of music. But he does it so that He, himself, will be shown to all the world. In God's plan there are time when we have to separate to follow Him. To leave everything else behind and go to a place... It hurts but it is good.
It was good to see old friends. I had been asking God to bring some girlfriends my way and he did. I even found humor in one way he answered that prayer. Every time I would pray it I would find myself getting all kinds of friend requests on myspace...He thinks he is so funny. okay so he is.
Thank you Lord for this weekend with friends. As Sharon Hoffman, said to me, "Sweetie, I think we learn more on these trips than we teach." God was good to me and taught me new things moment by moment.
1 comment:
Sounds like you had a blessed weekend......
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