Sunday, July 31, 2016

Racing Along the Treetops While Standing Still

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.”  -Henry David Thoreau 

I remember riding in a car as a child. I was amazed to see the moon chasing alongside of us. No matter how fast my Mom would drive, the moon effortlessly and flawlessly kept pace with us above the blurred treetops.

Cognitively, I knew that this concept of a moon in pursuit was ridiculous, but my eyes were convinced by its steady pace. Time and perspective remain as tricky concepts throughout life. We stand on the sidewalk and the moon stands still. We race through the night and yet still it remains at our side.

While seen as both still and in motion, the true movement of the moon remained constant. In the same way, we sometimes measure the movement of God. Perhaps He is neither fast nor slow. Maybe our perspective is simply skewed by our surroundings.

The decision to return to the US to wait on the call of the LORD seems like a drastic and all too fast change for those who observe our lives from a distance. Perhaps you see us racing along the treetops while we view ourselves as standing still. 

We do not run to change our course. We seek to remain constant in the steady will of God. Those who know us most have seen this coming in the movements of God in our life. We've known that He was arranging things for a shift, we simply did not know the direction. I think perhaps God allows us to see only just enough to take the next step.

Within the last year we have felt a Holy unease in our hearts. We have felt the Spirit stirring us while we have continued to seek His face. We thought that perhaps He wanted us to be more flexible with our schedule here, and so we began to make changes. 

Last year I resigned as the Principal of CAS, this year Kellie resigned from her teaching position at CAG, we registered our children for online learning, and our role become more distinctly defined as pastors. Journey Church has found its place and God provided me a strong associate and a team of preachers. He has refined us to lead, and to train others.

Realization flooded over us that God has prepared the way, He has provided closure in every direction. He has called new men and women to continue His mission in this place. This has been no rash decision. This is nothing more than a continuation of faithful steps. 

This decision was made months before we realized it. God has made the way straight. He has aligned countless variables. We are sure that we walk in His will. We sometimes think that we race so fast in our lives, and yet God remains constant, shining His light into our lives.

“Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different than it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself.

To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state of the other.” C.S. Lewis

We're down to less than 48 hours now before we depart. We need you to know that we are at peace. This is not a moment of worry, of stress, or even anxiety. Our hearts are calmed with the peace of God that falls on us like cool rain from a sticky night sky. We are not moving so fast, God is only turning us, ever so slightly, into who He made us to become.


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