Well, there have been many changes in our home over the last few months. My heart is so overwhelmed really. For 11 years we have been part of one of the most amazing churches I've ever heard of - and certainly ever known as home. Living Hope has been our family. Our place of worship and fellowship for a long time. It seems impossible to imagine... but after all of this time we feel the Lord leading us to a new fellowship. I have to admit... my heart aches. Though I am confident the Lord knows best - my heart aches to think of all of the wonderful memories and know that we have to start over - making family with new families in a new place. I am excited to meet new people. I love people. But, I am sad for the memories in that old, wonderful, familiar place. The good news is that we don't have to leave that family. We don't have to break ties... in fact, unity and love are what God is all about - and we won't lose our love for LHBC. We will get to spend eternity worshipping with many of the people in that body of believers in fact. But, on this Earth, for this short time - God is calling us to become members of a new family. I am excited to see what He will do. He is God. He has the right to ask us to do anything He wants. He has the right to take everything away... He has the right to turn our whole lives upside down. And even if it doesn't make sense on this side of eternity... if it is His will... it is the only thing we want.
During these last few weeks and months as we have spent time praying, we have also been busy doing "chores". Among these chores was planting trees. God is so amazing. I planted a tree in my front yard. All the while knowing that God is faithful. All the while knowing that this tree was representative of me in so many ways. It was smaller than the other trees - and weaker. It was drying up too quickly. It was dying. By the time I got it in the ground - it was really dead. Everyone that came over would just shake their head and tell me that it wasn't gonna make it. But, I prayed. Yep, that's right. I prayed over that tree - I prayed for that tree. It was a symbol of me. It was what was going on in my heart and mind all displayed in my front yard. And it was hopeless. BUT - we have an amazing God. I kept praying that if Jesus could make a fig tree wither with just one sentence... He could make my oak tree live with just one word... with just one glance. I KNEW He could make it live. He reminded me that He is the one that gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17). Yes, this is the God that I serve. This is the God that I love. This is the God that I want to give all of my affections to. And He spoke. And my tree is living. It is thriving in fact. New sprouts have begun to blossom all over and it is becoming green and beautiful. I am begging the Lord to do the same inside of me. To revive me and make the dead things alive. To renew the things that are dry and replace them with new sprouts of life. He can do this in me too. That tree is my symbol of hope. If you're driving by, you should really stop to take a look at it. I praise His name for that tree. He is Faithful. He is Beautiful.
