A few years ago a wise man spoke
some truth into my life about this very thought of setting, keeping, and
evaluating our resolutions every year.
He told me that one of the easiest ways that he had found to move
forward with a resolution (or several) is to look back on what God has done in
your life over the past year. He made it
a habit to journal consistently about the various ways that he had seen God
working in and through the situations of his daily life throughout the year. He took the opportunity of New Year’s Day to
read back through and reflect upon the work of God in His life. As I started thinking about this in my life
over the past year there are several amazing things that God has done in my
life over the past twelve months, which have lead me to think about the way I
live my life in the coming year.
However, for the sake of this blog entry I will choose two life-altering
decisions that will affect how I move my life forward in the coming months.
The first of these workings of God
centers on my accepting of a new ministry position. Last January both my wife and I started
feeling like God was calling us to a new ministry position somewhere closer to
our families. We found ourselves looking
all over for a new position in ministry as we felt our time in the south was
drawing to a close. In May we journeyed
to North Canton, Ohio to interview at Faith UMC. While I felt as though the interview was
confirmation for us to move and Mindy felt as though her time in town was
confirmation we had to wait on the phone call from the search committee which
came a few days later. I held my breath
as I listened to the words of the head of the Staff Parish committee offered me
the job. Unfortunately our house had
horrible cell phone reception so I had to ask him to repeat the offer to make
sure that I heard him right. A couple of
weeks later we found ourselves moving back to the Midwest, starting over in a
new church, and feeling blessed that God provided this transition for us.
Through this experience, I was reminded
of the blessing of “fresh starts” that come in our lives. I was reminded of the “fresh start” that God
gave me at the age of fourteen at a lock-in when I accepted Him into my heart
for the first time. I was reminded of
the “fresh start” that He extended to me when I accepted my call to ministry
almost two years later, changing my career path drastically. I was reminded of the “fresh start” that we
have because of God’s forgiveness, grace, and love in my life. Overall this experience reminded me of the
depth of God’s love for me personally and His provision for my life.
Fast forward to the end of the 2012,
where our family felt the need to purchase a home that would be our own. This was something that we wanted to do for
our children to provide stability in their lives and allow us to establish some
“roots” in our local community. We were
excited when the first offer we made was accepted and it looked as though
everything would work out perfectly for us to be in our own home for Christmas. However, as we inched toward our closing
date, several “hiccups” started occurring in the process. We felt ourselves growing in frustration and
questioning the timing of the numerous “barriers” that were popping up
everywhere. We finally withdrew our
offer from this house and walked away uncertain of where we would live for the
next few months. However, again God
provided something amazing for family.
We were blessed to be able to get into an apartment, with a short term
lease, the day we came back to town from celebrating Christmas with our
families. We also found out that another
house, which happened to be my wife’s favorite home that we saw was still on
the market and available. We submitted
an offer and are in the process of negotiating the price with the owners as I
write this.
This process of purchasing a home
has probably given me more gray hairs than my children because of the stress,
uncertainty, and drastic turns that have taken place through it all. However, I am reminded of my wife’s words,
“God has always taken care of us through everything, why would He let us down
now?” These words have echoed deep in my
soul throughout the recent weeks, as God has provided in an amazing way for our
family. He has provided the funds in our
bank account. He has provided a bed for
us to sleep in every night with a roof over our heads. He has provided a house, that we believe is
the house we are supposed to be in (not to mention several of the updates that
we wanted are already accomplished) in His timing. While we may not have an understanding as to
why this situation unfolded the way it did, one thing remains true; God is
faithful to us, so shouldn’t we be faithful to Him as well.
Looking back reminds us of where we
have been, so that we can live through the present, and soar into the
future! I am thankful for these words
that were offered up to me a few years ago and I challenge you to look at what
God has done in your life over the past twelve months and where He wants to
take you in the next tweleve.
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