Uprooting

As a follower of my blog I'm sure you have wondered if I dropped off the end of the globe?! However the reason for my absence from "A Walk in My Shoes" has been that God has been doing some major uprooting in my family's life.

We have been youth pastors at Lone Star Cowboy Church in Montgomery, TX for 6 years now. We moved here when my son was only a month old and have enjoyed the roller coaster ride God has had us on! It was such a blessing to see and be a part of a youth group of 15 becoming an average attendance of 200-300!! To see these teens turn their hearts toward God and yearn for Him! So many belly laughs, tears and memories of this place and OH SO MANY faces that I will NEVER ever forget! And even if my old age does try to take the memories, I have most of them journaled! We have learned so much from our dear pastors, Randy and Darla Weaver. I've told them before in cards and in person but Randy taught me to love people - even if we don't like them - that they ARE God's greatest treasure and we must choose to see them through God's eyes. Darla taught me about forgiveness, grace and mercy. A saying that is forever embedded in my heart and mind was something she told me when I was having a good ole' struggle with God over something. She told me, "You are no less a sinner than they are." You guessed it - the struggle was about a "somebody" not a something. But it was my light bulb moment. It doesn't matter how justified you think you are - you are a sinner just as everyone else is. No person is higher or lower - we are ALL equal in God's eyes. And when you realize that it's much easier to have mercy on them knowing that we all make mistakes and when I mess up I want whoever I hurt or offend to forgive me - for you reap what you sow.

As much as we love the people of LSCC and have loved our time there, God has told us plainly that He wants us to go somewhere else now. Our season there is over. And I know that as HEARTBREAKING as it was to sobbingly say good-bye to our teens there, I have no doubt that God has great plans for their future there, and ours as well. God has called us to Dayton Christian Center in Dayton, TX. Thankfully it is not too far and so I will be able to commute to where I have worked this year - which by the way, in case there isn't enough change having to happen - I interviewed for a teaching position at the Day School I work at and GOT IT! So I am now a full-time teacher at a Day School of...you ready for this??? A ONE -YEAR OLD CLASS!! I know - I'm crazy! Trust me I know. However this was totally God too, because when my boss first asked me about the position I told her no. I had no intention of working 4 days yet because I am trying to finish up college. But God has assured me it will all work out and I trust Him fully.

The other day I was thinking about a book I had read and that started my mind down some random trail and God ended up giving me a beautiful scene in my head that fit our transition. It was a plant being uprooted. The longer a plant stays somewhere the deeper the roots go and the more established that plant becomes with the ground there. A plant endures seasons - summer and sunshine, rainy springs, and cold harsh winters. And if you live here in TX a plant will also undergo the burning sweltering heat of late summer! However, sometimes the gardener decides that He would like to move this particular plant to another part of the garden this year - perhaps to give it more shade or more sun, or perhaps just because he woke up that morning and thought "ooh that would look divine over by the whatcha-ma-call-its! And then ooh I could put a doo-hickey where it used to be!! Oh man that is gonna look SO good!!"

Can't you just imagine God getting all excited, just like a gardener, uprooting and planting new and old plants alike all over His beautiful garden?! I could. However, uprooting a well-established, deep rooted plant takes hard work and no matter how deep He digs or how careful He is when he finally pulls it out of the ground some of those roots will rip and tear. This is the heartbreak we experience when leaving a place. The roots, or the people and memories, go right along with us in our hearts to the new place but it is a hard experience and those smaller roots that rip and are left in the old ground cause tears but also make for good fertile ground for another plant to build off of and around.

Now I am not a gardener by any means and if my analogies were off a bit than please forgive me, however it was fitting to me and made for a wonderful thought path that afternoon in the car. *smile**sigh*

Thanks for letting me share and I will hopefully get slowly back into my regular blogging.

Helping Hand

Today I was able to go to the house of our newest hired pastor and get to know his wife a little better and also help her unpack the last of her boxes and get her kitchen organized. It was so nice to finally get to visit with her a little and find out who she is and where she comes from. She has an INCREDIBLE story and has interesting things in her life. She has "Conversions Disorder" which is very similar to "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder". It was crazy hearing her life story and everything she has been through. This lady is incredibly strong and can cope with things with such ease compared to, well the majority of the population. I love hearing people's stories, because everyone has them. It really helps give you a perspective on the person.

I am again waiting for church to start since by the time we got done with unpacking it was only two hours until church would start and I didn't feel any need to drive ALL the way back home to simply turn around and drive right back. So we all came over and invaded the church office fridge, gulped down some leftover pizza, and now as I am sitting here blogging, our Director of Ministries popped his head in and invited me to his marriage class tonight instead since I ahve already heard the sermon for the week. He said it is the BEST part of the series and will be really good. So I believe I will walk my happy butt down to his class instead tonight.

Oh and I forgot I finally got to view Darla Weaver's (our Senior Pastor's wife) video testimony for her Acts of Grace ministry. She has an INCREDIBLE ministry to post-abortive and sexually abused women (and soon to be - men) and has helped several hurting women find healing, hope, and restoration. If you know anyone who has either been sexually abused or has had an abortion I strongly recommend checking out her ministry. The bible studies she does with these women always, I mean ALWAYS, results in completely different women (for better!!). Here is her ministry website: http://www.lonestarcowboychurch.org/aog.php

This website is actually our church website but has the Acts of Grace information and contact info. as well. Well have a great Monday night!