Leaving

“Leave your country and your father’s household; go to the land I will show you. I will make you a blessing. [Abraham] departed.”  Genesis 12:1, 4

I sense my time will be short at my current church. As I continue to pray, it seems this church is moving in a different direction.

How does one leave a place? God spoke to Abraham to leave everything to realize God’s blessing. The 75-year-old Abraham left trusting God in faith.

In the book of Ruth, Naomi left in desperation after losing her husband and both married sons. With no one in this foreign country to provide for her needs, her only option was to return to her homeland. Daughter-in-law Ruth responded in faith to Naomi’s God and moved with Naomi to see what God would do. Eventually, Ruth married Boaz and became the ancestor of Messiah.

Jonah ran away from God’s clear instructions. A whale of an experience grabbed Jonah’s attention and sent him back to obey God’s original message. His obedience came with gritted teeth and bitterness at the positive outcome. It’s amazing that God used Jonah’s reluctance to offer His grace and forgiveness to Nineveh. Despite Jonah’s attitude, the Ninevites believe the prophet’s message and repent.

My husband and I believe God is asking us to leave this church and go to a new place, to be revealed as we respond in faith. There’s a hint our faith will be expanded to see God do more.

Still the question remains, how do we leave? I don’t want to leave out of desperation, like Naomi. I don’t want to run away in bitterness, like Jonah. I would like to leave, like Abraham, feeling blessed and blessing the church as we move on.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

God is challenging my faith to trust the outcome to God, to believe God will provide supportive community, and to believe ministry opportunities will abound.

(Written in March 2012)

PS   Jim resigned from the church board May 15, 2012. This decision was not easy and at times rather painful. But, we are experiencing freedom as we explore the wider Christian community from Lutheran, to Episcopal, to a Taize service at Westminster Presbyterian.

The FUD Factor

In 2009 I attended the first retreat sponsored by PPG Ministries. The theme for the weekend was based on a sales principle: The FUD Factor - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. We all were grappling with uncertainty for the future with recession, unemployment, and economic cutbacks.

Rita opened this first retreat by asking us if anyone enjoyed a roller coaster. I enjoy a
roller coaster ride; the thrill, the adrenaline rush, even the anticipation of the huge dip.
My ultimate ride was in total darkness at Space Mountain in Disney World; I did not
know when the next twist or dip was coming and I screamed my head off until there was
no longer any sound coming out. What fun! When the ride was over and my armload of
packages made it through with me, I was ready to get back in line once again.

The Holy Spirit kept that image in my mind as I grappled with the theme of Fear,
Uncertainty, and Doubt. Life is like a roller coaster ride in the dark, but I don’t always
“let go” and release my grip to enjoy the ride with God by my side. If I could just learn
how to do that, I believe that my life would have more of faith’s joy and much less of the
fear connected with doubt. Of course, the theme park ride is much briefer and we know
the end will come rather quickly. The daily reality of life is such that we cannot see the
end and we get weary of the uncertainty.

The antidote for fear is faith in the God of Abundant Life who died to give us Joy for the
Journey. The antidote for uncertainty is to the trust the certainty of our God who is the
same today as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow. The antidote for doubt is to
confess our unbelief and ask God to help us hold our arms up in faith trusting His
strength to enable us to soar with the eagles over the rolling, dipping storms in our life.

Come with me, my friend, to ride God’s roller coaster. Let’s ride with our hands lifted
high anticipating the thrill of what God has in store for us – the Abundant Life.

Can't you feel the smile forming on your face? I'm smiling!

REFLECTION:

Do you think your feelings about a theme park roller coaster is similar to what you feel when life presents you a roller coaster?

How do you connect with the God of joy along your up and down, twist and turn journey?

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