Moving is hard. Even when you’re following God’s will. I want to be all chipper and share about how great the adventure has been. But this has already been a hard day.
Don’t get me wrong, the adventure has been great. We love our church. God is moving. People are responding to our leadership. We believe that Lynwood’s vision is so biblical. There is an authentic movement toward biblical, radical, American-dream-shattering Christian living and we are pumped about it. We love our house. It fits us in such an amazing way that only God could have picked it out. Our kids have great schools and wonderful teachers. They have nurtured and cared for them and gone way beyond the call of duty. We love our staff and are already forming great friendships on and off of the staff. We love the worship team. The people here have cared for us and accepted us into the Lynwood family. We already feel at home in so many ways. We do not have a shadow of a doubt about God’s will. We are where He wants us to be.
But moving is hard. Preteen hormones and moving stress came out at 5:30 a.m. this morning. Brotey vomited all over himself on the way in to school – in the grass in front of the school (Nursey, thanks for helping him change clothes and taking him on to class). The weight of needing to sell our house in Rainbow City sits on me (the provider) like nothing I’ve known before. Missing our friends and family in Alabama. Budgeting. AT&T. Driver’s Licenses (don’t get me started). The burden for our kid’s friendships. The inner turmoil is hard to describe.
But God has been speaking this week. From Psalm 90, Moses speaks of how great our God is. His eternal nature. He was here before the mountains were formed and He will be here after they crumble. In eternity, our time is short, so we better “number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (v.12) Priorities, priorities. Kingdom priorities. We can be satisfied in His “steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” (v.14) He is all we need and we should not waste our time here. We’ve got to worship and serve. Seek and love.
In Psalm 91 we see that when we dwell with Him, we dwell in safety. We can rest in the shadow of His protection and provision. Because of our intimate relationship with Him He will answer us, protect us, and save us.
In 1 Thessalonians God has been challenging me to keep my priorities straight. (Pause – just got a call from Patrick White. Great to hear his voice. I love that brother in Christ so much. Thanks for calling man. God is good.) Chapeter 1 – It is God who has called us and filled us with His Spirit. Chapter 2 – We work to please Him, not man. He is the one who tests our hearts. He has called us to be bold with the gospel but gentle with babes in Christ. We must not just “preach”, we have to share our lives. Open up. We must be real as we encourage believers to “walk in a manner worthy of God.” (v.12) Chapter 3 – We must display God’s love through our love for each other. We are fellow servants, co-workers, soldiers in the same conflict. Chapter 4 – Live to please God. His will for us is our sanctification. Live differently than the world, because…He is coming back. Triumphantly, He is coming back. Chapter 5 – like a thief in the night, without warning, He is coming back. Don’t be caught asleep! Live for His glory. Work as though He’s coming today. Respect your spiritual leadership. Be at peace in the body of Christ. Admonish and encourage the idle in the faith. Help the weak. Pick up the fainthearted. BE PATIENT (all caps for me). Seek to do good. Rejoice. Pray. Give thanks in all circumstances – for this is God’s will for us.
How can we do all this? “He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.” (5:24) Did I point out that God is good?
MeadowBrook, we miss you so much. You guys are family and I am so proud of you. I hear of your faithfulness. Your service. Your commitment to His calling. We pray for you and lift you up in His name. Stay true to your calling and seek Him with all your might!
Lynwood, we love you. You are our family also. We’re still getting to know each other, but we are home. Thank you for loving and nurturing our family. We are so excited about the days ahead. Let’s seek Him. Let’s serve. Let’s love. Let’s encourage. He’s coming back, so let’s live each moment for His glory.
To everyone, thanks for reading. Thanks for letting me vent, whine, well, pretty much vomit on the screen. We love you all.
For His Eternal Glory,
Brian, Sonya, and family
