Would God send us HERE?!?

All I could do was cry!  Andy & I had been invited to interview with a church 350 miles from home.  We’d spent the evening with a fun-loving committee—but after we got back to our motel room, all I could do was cry.  I told Andy that I didn’t know what it was—but there was something wrong with the situation.  He assured me we didn’t have to come to this church. 

The next morning, we met the pastor and his wife for breakfast.  We knew and loved and respected them both.  We talked a bit and then I asked them, “Why are you here?”  They looked at one another and the pastor replied, “That’s a good question. God sent me here to practice the things I’d been teaching in my last church.”  

We went home and prayed. And waited.  As the days passed, I tried to convince myself it wasn’t as bad I thought. I had nothing to base my reaction on. At the time, I didn’t even understand that I had a spiritual gift of discernment. We got the call and were asked to come to be presented before the church for a vote.  My heart was full of dread.  We went and sat in the pastor’s office as the church voted and I ugly-cried!  Andy assured me again, “We don’t have to come here!”  And I replied, “Yes, we do!!   I know God is sending us here—but WHY?!?”  We went out (with my red face) and told the church we accepted their call.  

We were there three years. And it was, by far, the hardest place we’ve ever been.  In fact, we were building a house and a man from our church told our builder to quit building—he was going to make sure we were GONE!   There was big, constant conflict because there had been a deep root of sin in the church which had been exposed.   And our pastor was dealing with it in truth.  I wish I could tell you I spent those three years quietly submitting to God...but I have to admit there was a lot of kicking and screaming on the inside of my heart. 

But...what we gained from that three-year experience was priceless!!!  Andy learned how to stand in truth and deal with conflict.  His ministry became very defined.  And we’ve never had such closeness with a staff as we did then—we were bound together!  And the people who were our friends became life-long friends.  Our youth group was amazing!

Will God send you somewhere you may not want to go?  Yes.  But will He have good reason?   Definitely.  And, if you’re like me, you’ll look back on that time as a life-changing, life-giving experience.  That was, in fact, God’s plan all along.