It is 6:30 pm. I am sitting in my den, looking out the window at the lake.
Lake Hartwell. Not Lake Murray.
This was not how my Fall was supposed to go.
Most of you faithful, beautiful friends know that I am now a resident of Anderson, South Carolina. I left Sophie, Kim and my family behind and moved last month. There are still things in boxes. My TV is on the floor and not hooked up.
In August, I was planning on co-teaching a Wednesday night Bible study for college students. Genesis is the topic (hope you guys are soaking up the Word!). Fall Retreat was to Kentucky this year. Tailgating was in full swing.
But then God stepped in and blew His spirit wind in the most perfect and disruptive way.
And He changed me.
I love my new job. I love NewSpring Church in a way that I did not think I could. I am so humbled to be a part of the way God is advancing His Kingdom. Humbled that God would look on this, as Brennan Manning would say, "unsteady disciple whose cheese is falling off their cracker," and allow me to be a part of His greater work. So humbled.
I do miss Columbia, my home and safety. But it is, as Elizabeth Elliot has so beautifully phrased, "material for sacrifice." Sometimes we have to let go of something or someone before God can fully use us as He intended.
I prayed for a year that God would wipe the slate of my heart and life clean. It was a prayer that took nearly every ounce of courage in my feeble little heart to pray. I was not even sure how much I meant it. But clean He did. And now He has scripted new challenges, burdens and ministries. All undeserved.
So friends, this is only the beginning for all of us. Our lives are not our own. I pray that you will swim so deep with Jesus today that nothing is too extraordinary.
And you all have a place to stay when you visit Anderson.
Because you will all be coming for a visit.
Favorite Thing today: Because the aforementioned TV is still not hooked up, this site has served up my Biggest Loser, Chuck and The Office fix.
1 comments:
hey amanda,
i work with amy wright and she showed me your blog...i love it and feel in a very similar place as you, so it's good to hear how God is moving someone else in new, exciting, but sometimes difficult ways! i moved from charleston to columbia for the first move of my life, so i hear you on leaving loved ones behind, but it's so worth it when you think of what God wants to do - imaginably more than we could ask or imagine. so thanks for sharing and i look forward to reading more!
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