On moving...

“Not that I account my life of any value or as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20.

Lately this has been my life verse. Moving across the planet can change your life verse pretty dramatically….

On moving…

I always said I would never marry a sem student
I always said I would never move from LA
I always said I would marry someone from California

These things were the only things on my “list.” in fact I said I never had a list because it was so short, and ironically the Lord totally shattered it once I met Clint! Amazing how the Lord works and shows you that your ways are not his ways and your thoughts are not his thoughts. Life with Clint is amazing. Imagine if I had stuck with my list!! I would have missed out on the Lord’s awesome plan for my life, and an amazing, loving, godly, fun-filled husband! So when people tell me they have a list now, I tell them that the Lord might give them the opposite, and surprise them by the wondrous things He has in store.

So I think I get the question… “how does it feel to be moving to South Africa”? about 15 times daily. And the question hits me different ways during those 15 times. I think I answer it differently every time. Those who know me now feel like its normal that we are moving, those from my past think its odd. The Lord has done a 180 in my thinking, and also I think it has become sort of a normal thing after thinking for 4 years "we are moving someday to S.A." It's just crazy that it is finally here, less than 3 months.

I was reading in Mark the other day…and so many verses came up. Like Mark 10:32 When Peter says “Look, we have left EVERYTHING to follow you” and Christ says…“I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my name sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time.” And I thought… that’s me! I’m leaving EVERYTHING! Maybe not like the disciples. But everything that I love here, for the unknown. How kind of Christ to comfort us with promises. But that is what is so amazing about it. Christ has so many promises for those who take a leap of faith. I’m not saying its easy. But it’s comforting to read scripture, and to see how he takes care of the birds of the air, and the flowers of the field, so why not us?

We are both moving to a place that is unfamiliar & new. Clint is 6 hours from home by car. I am going to be 24 hours away by plane. But to both of us it is difficult to see faces that we won’t see for quite a while, and think on how we will miss their sweet fellowship face to face. The Ephesian elders felt this way when they said goodbye to Paul “And there was much weeping and crying on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again.” Acts 20:37

But we hold on to promises in Scripture, and awesome life changing words of Paul “Not that I account my life of any value or as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20.

I’m not saying I’ve got it all down. I still cry, almost weekly, about leaving Grace Church, my family, SCV, my amazing bible study, Friends, Lands, Houses, and everything. Why God would use US this way, I don’t know, its humbling! But the Lord has shaped and molded Clint in these last 5 years of seminary to be a pastor. And a church that’s EXACTLY what we prayed for was in need of a pastor. How could we not be excited? So it’s a giant mix of feelings. But the Lord is Sovereign, and SOOO good. He works all things together for good to those who love Him.