I recently posted this quote on my social media outlets…
“Beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it is the middle that counts the most. You need to remember that when you find yourself at the beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up.”
This comes from a cheesy chick-flick I have watched more times than I count, Hope Floats. But it seemed so fitting for where I was in this journey. This past week, we retrieved all of our earthly belongings from our storage garage in PA and headed back to Kansas.
A few months ago, here are some things I said out loud to people and the Lord…
“I will never move back to Kansas to live!”
“I will never pastor a church of less than 100 again.”
“I am never going to be a pastor again!”
Now, I guess that I should know better in telling the Lord, what I am never going to do. Because I am confident He just sets up there and smiles. I do think the next time I try “I never statments,” it will be around living on the ocean and a million dollars! 🙂
So, here I am, back where it started… Kansas. Pastoring…again. And, looking at rebuilding a church that I have already put much blood, sweat, and tears in. My nevers are now my realities.
Honestly, I am pretty excited about it. While I know that the work ahead of me is crazy insane. I am also confident that these are the steps that God has ordained for this time in my life. Kansas is nowhere near my favorite cities (Washington DC, NYC, Boston). Kansas is many miles away from most of my kids and yet this is the place that God has called in this season. Through the pain and joy of the past years, I have learned that God is never wrong. (This never statement will never be disproved.)
With gratitude…
Thank you, Lord, you show up in my life in ways I could not have scripted or imagined.
Thank you, Family, for walking in hard places with me and to places we did not expect to be.
Thank you Friends (like family), who prayed, provided care, and loved us in the unknowns of the past few months.
Thank you Trinity Wesleyan in Allentown, for the lessons learned and the lives impacted. You will forever be part of the ongoing God story in my life.
With gratitude, I cling to Jesus and look forward to the ride ahead.
