The Lord is good. He is leading AJ and I down a new path. It is scary, frightening, and exciting all at the same time.
About 7 months ago, AJ and I began just praying, in general, that the Lord would lead us wherever He wanted us to serve. Now, we were currently serving at Garnett Road. We weren't necessarily praying that the Lord take us away from Garnett Road, but quite the opposite. We prayed that we would be used where we were, for as long as we were supposed to be there, to glorify the Lord. Towards the end of August, it became clearer and clearer to AJ and I that a change was needing to happen. Now, it was not an optimal time for change. When is there REALLY a perfect time for change? For someone who hates change, I fought this reality for as long as possible. However, through different circumstances AND the Holy Spirit's leading, AJ felt, as the head of the household, that the Lord was calling us away from our home church, Garnett Road. (I emphasized the fact that the Lord used both circumstances and his own leading, in his own way, to make this decision clear to us. Unfortunately, many people only rely on circumstances around them for this kind of a leading..but we spent an enormous amount of time in prayer before we announced our decision).
A dear friend of mine, when talking to her about my fears of this change, used the phrase "step of faith". And man, has that been exactly what we have gone through! Let me first say, on average, youth pastors usually stay in their position at a particular church for 3 years at a time. We only stayed for a year and a half. As a logical person, this was one reason that I fought this change. It did not make any sense to me that we couldn't reach the average. But then, the Lord smacked me upside my head and said "You can't put me in a box!". Fine, got it.
About 7 months ago, AJ and I began just praying, in general, that the Lord would lead us wherever He wanted us to serve. Now, we were currently serving at Garnett Road. We weren't necessarily praying that the Lord take us away from Garnett Road, but quite the opposite. We prayed that we would be used where we were, for as long as we were supposed to be there, to glorify the Lord. Towards the end of August, it became clearer and clearer to AJ and I that a change was needing to happen. Now, it was not an optimal time for change. When is there REALLY a perfect time for change? For someone who hates change, I fought this reality for as long as possible. However, through different circumstances AND the Holy Spirit's leading, AJ felt, as the head of the household, that the Lord was calling us away from our home church, Garnett Road. (I emphasized the fact that the Lord used both circumstances and his own leading, in his own way, to make this decision clear to us. Unfortunately, many people only rely on circumstances around them for this kind of a leading..but we spent an enormous amount of time in prayer before we announced our decision).
A dear friend of mine, when talking to her about my fears of this change, used the phrase "step of faith". And man, has that been exactly what we have gone through! Let me first say, on average, youth pastors usually stay in their position at a particular church for 3 years at a time. We only stayed for a year and a half. As a logical person, this was one reason that I fought this change. It did not make any sense to me that we couldn't reach the average. But then, the Lord smacked me upside my head and said "You can't put me in a box!". Fine, got it.
Let me also say, that the Lord wasn't necessarily calling us away from Garnett Road and immediately to another church. Usually, a youth pastor leaves a church because they have another job in line at another church. Nope, not us. This is probably the HUGEST factor in this "step of faith" that we have taken. Sunday, the 29th was the last Sunday that we served at Garnett Road. Yes, people have talked. Yes, silly rumors have been started as to "why we left". It's weird. But, I won't go into that. This has been a scary change for us, and only those who support us during this time have truly shown the character of their friendship. The others, eh...forget 'em. (In a forgiving way of course...). The Lord has continued to assure us that we have made the correct decision through several different circumstances and situations. First: Money. AJ was the primary provider for us. I make $13K a year...and only get paid monthly...so this was rather a scary jump for me. Especially scary for me because I am the one who does our budget. On paper, there was no way we were going to make it. Sometimes, I still don't think we are going to make it. But the Lord always provides. For example, we decided to use my check at the end of December to cover the first of the month's bills for this month. Now, usually my checks go straight to paying off things (AJ's loans, AJ's teeth, AJ...lol). Instead, we used my check to pay for this months bills. And praise the Lord, my check, somehow, covers up through the 16th of October. That's more comforting than you know. Would I have rather of used my check to pay off one of AJ's loans? Yes. Would it have been more convenient for us? Of course. However, the Lord has reminded me of priorities. He has reminded me that he revoked the option of a new car a few months ago because he knew that in just a few months later we could not afford a new car payment or car insurance rate. Thus, the Lord has provided in that way. Also, he has also shown up in silly circumstances. With the resignation of AJ's job, we also lost our insurance. Our insurance was most important for AJ's teeth and my birth control. They covered 100% of my birth control. Bad news: Target's retail value for my birth control is 80$. I panicked when I saw this. Good news: my honey called around, he found that Walgreens sells it for 30$ and Target will price match it. The Lord even works in these little things! Also, if for whatever reason it takes AJ a lot longer to get a ministry position, I can get insurance through TU at any time for both him and I. The only reason I want him to be insured is because when AJ's Orthodontist gives the "go ahead", we will be seeing an oral surgeon to extract AJ's baby teeth from his mouth. We absolutely cannot pay for that out of pocket, so we need some kind of medical coverage. The Lord gave us an option if a job doesn't come through. Another way the Lord has assured us of our decision to step down is the coverage in the church itself. The church found interim positions for both the youth and music through December. And they found it rather quickly. How awesome is that!
The Lord is good, and we don't know where He is planning on taking us. AJ has a temporary job with a friend starting Monday, this was another way the Lord provided. As far as a ministry position, he is interviewing with several churches and I will update everyone as soon as we have been called to a certain place. Until then, I will continue to rest in His promise that He will take care of us, always. Are we broke? Technically. Are we stressed? Sure. But the Lord continues to remind us, day to day, that when He is in control, everything falls into place.
The Lord is good, and we don't know where He is planning on taking us. AJ has a temporary job with a friend starting Monday, this was another way the Lord provided. As far as a ministry position, he is interviewing with several churches and I will update everyone as soon as we have been called to a certain place. Until then, I will continue to rest in His promise that He will take care of us, always. Are we broke? Technically. Are we stressed? Sure. But the Lord continues to remind us, day to day, that when He is in control, everything falls into place.