Jul. 29, 2009 - The Long Journey Home
What a whirlwind this summer has been! This post has been formulating in my mind for most of the month of July and at this point, I'm not even sure where to begin! Care for a little story about the goodness and faithfulness of God? (if you want to skip to the most recent parts, scroll down to the bold text)
More than 12 years ago now, the Lord led my husband to move from our home in New Hampshire to Florida to go to Bible college. At the time, I was newly pregnant with our first child, after five years of infertility. It was a terribly difficult time for us but knowing that we could go home in three years, when school was done, helped tremendously. The Lord had other plans for us though. We ended up staying in the south, eventually pastoring a church in MS and then KY. Not a single autumn went by without my experiencing terrible homesickness.
For the first six months of 2008, God began to burden my husband's heart to return to New England. Looking back, I can see that God was at work for far longer than six months. Chad had never wanted to return to New England; pastoring in the south is entirely different than the north and he'd grown accustomed to it. And beyond that, we were at a church that was growing and had made a lot of good friends. Surrendering to the Lord's will was both difficult and liberating at the same time.
So in June of 2008, my husband resigned his church and we moved back to our 'home church' in North Carolina. It had been on my husband's heart to take a year off and regroup but he never really had any intention of doing so. Once again, the Lord in His mercy intervened. During the past year, we have been able to be a part of what I believe to be the best church in the country. The Lord has blessed and grown us in ways we never believed possible - *I* never believed possible. It's been amazing.
Throughout the year, we tried to contact churches and pastors - literally hundreds of contacts - with no doors opening. We were very confused. Why would God direct to do something and then not open the doors to do so?
Timing....it's all about God's timing. My husband attended a mission's conference the beginning of June. He figured that maybe God would have him come north as a missionary. He came home from the conference and told me to pack some things, that we were leaving for NH in a few days. Thus begins the whirlwind of events that have unfolded in only a few short weeks.
Two days before we were to leave, Chad made a phone call to a man who is a director for Macedonia Missions. He left a message, asking if he knew of any churches that might need a fill-in or were looking for a pastor so he'd be able to preach while he was up here. This man called back that evening (Saturday) and said he was meeting with a pulpit committee the next morning and he would mention Chad.
We left for NH on Monday and while on the road, received a phone call saying this church wanted Chad to come and preach. We spent our 2 1/2 weeks at this same church before returning to NC. While back in North Carolina, this church in NH voted my husband in as pastor and a week later, we moved HOME to New Hampshire.
While we were banging our heads against the wall, trying to make things happen, GOD had a perfect plan and time table. In a matter of about a month, God opened the door, made the way, and got us home. Not only that, He's taken care of us every step of the way. He provided the finances for both trips so that it didn't cost us anything. He watched over us and protected us over thousands of miles on the road. God even took care of some medical issues that arose while we were up here. God is good! His mercy is unfathomable. Praise the Lord for his goodness.
I had wanted to write about fear...fear that only the Lord can take care of. Maybe in another post. We've had some fearful times lately but God has been in control of them all.
©2009 Adorning Grace
