"This is the Lord's doing, it is marvelous in our eyes." (Psalm 118:23) Isn't that a great verse? The word marvelous in this verse has the idea of wonderful or extraordinary, something that only God can do!
This has been a big week for us as we continue taking steps in this journey.
The week brought a special blessing for me, in that the Lord answered prayer and I received a job offer as a result of an interview I had for a job I really wanted. I accepted the offer and am excited about beginning my new job in 2 weeks. It is a job that is very different from the one I have had the last few weeks - one that is more fitting to my skills, experience, and personality; is easier on me physically than the one I have been coming home exhausted from being on my feet and doing physical work for 8 hours; and one which will be of greater benefit to us financially. It was also so encouraging to me to see once again the sovereign hand of the Lord in our lives over the past few months. The job that I had before leaving Williamsburg was definitely in the providence of God - I was not there very long, but I gained necessary experience in a government setting, as well as a recommendation from my supervisor there. Both were instrumental in my being chosen for this job. God is so good to let us sometimes see that He indeed is with is and is working out His plan for us, even though at the time it may not seem that way.
And as we continue taking steps, yesterday we took a big one as we became members of the local church we have been attending. If you have been following my blog, you will know that we have been through a lot the last 8 months. But for me, more than any other change, the decision to join a church was the hardest one. Harder than selling our beautiful house and moving into an apartment. Harder than downsizing and having half of our belongings in a storage unit indefinitely (even though I just had to go out and buy all new cake pans because somehow my cake pans did not make it to our apartment and are buried in the mountain somewhere in the storage unit!) Harder than having to go back to work full-time.
The whole church-searching process was difficult. Partly because good, conservative, Bible-preaching churches are very hard find these days. If you are members of one, you are blessed. Don't take it for granted. It was also difficult because due to either being in school (when my husband was on staff of a large church so we did not have to make the church-membership decision) or being in the pastorate, we had not had to search for a church home for over 30 years - since our children were babies! I have learned a lot. I know what it's like to get up every Sunday and think, "So where are we going to go to church today?" I know what it's like to feel like an outsider at church services and events. I know what questions to ask and what to look for, when you are tired of having to critique churches. I know what it's like to cry coming home from church because no one spoke to me the entire time I was there. (That was not the case in every church we visited, and certainly not in the one we just became members of - I want to make that clear!) But if the Lord calls us to another ministry, I always want to remember what it feels like to be on "the other side." It will help me to be a better pastor's wife.
But for me it was especially hard to take the step of becoming a member of another church because it means my husband is no longer my pastor. It means the official end of our ministry - that after almost 25 years of pastoring we are no longer pastoring, but part of a congregation. But joining a church was an important and necessary step to take. Why?
Because the Lord requires that His people align themselves with a local church as a place to be spiritually nourished and to serve. And the Lord requires that His servants be found faithful. I have been studying verses related to and meditating on faithfulness. It is clear from the number of verses and parables on the subject of faithfulness that God prizes it. Just a sampling: 1 Corinthians 4:2 "Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found faithful." Luke 16:10 - "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much..." Acts 11:23 - "When he (Barnabas) came and saw the grace of God, he was glad and exhorted them to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose." Matthew 25 contains the parable of the faithful servant. Someday I want to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
Many years ago as part of my husband's ordination service, our son sang the song "May the Lord Find us Faithful." It recently suddenly occurred to me that this didn't mean just in the ministry, as we assumed during that long-ago ordination service. It means may He find us faithful in everything, all the time, with our lives. Right now, we are on a detour. Or maybe the detour has become the main road. We don't know that yet. But whatever we are doing, we want to be found faithful. May that be your heart's desire and prayer too!
Lovingly,
Kathi
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