The Next Chapter

I haven't blogged in such a long time!!! It's a very different and new season for me in my life. I'm not even sure where to begin. What a year of change it has been! Last year at this time I had quit my teaching job in Norman and didn't have a clue what God had ahead of me. I, with an incredible team of people, spent three years doing a bus ministry to kids. Looking back I can see God's wisdom in preparing me for what I'm doing now, as well as planting seeds in every little heart that we were able to speak into. I think about those kids a lot. Although it wasn't an easy decision, I knew in March of last year what the Lord was speaking to me. I panicked when He began to whisper into my heart that it was time to quit my teaching job. I panicked because He wouldn't tell me what was around the corner.  I totally went out on a limb and trusted Him with my gut feeling that it was time to quit my job. A month later, the opportunity arose to come back to Ada and work with the church that I previously attended. When I look back at what the Lord did in my heart during the 7 years in Norman, I am very thankful. I think the biggest thing He put in me was a desire for commnity outreach to especially (but not limited to) children. So here I am. Back in Ada!

When I moved to Ada from Arizona in 1998, I had no idea what God was about to do in me. I had just graduated highschool and I decided I wanted to follow in my sisters' footsteps and attend East Central University. The next seven years were very important in my life. The Lord became very real to me and I experienced His love in a way that I never had before. My view of God as being harsh and disappointed most of the time was exchanged with the truth of what He is really like. I felt His gentleness and love towards me and it changed me. It made me hungry for more and, because of my college schedule, I was able to give a considerable amount of time with the Lord, which did wonders in my heart and life that I never knew existed.

So today as I think about the last time I lived in Ada, I believe this next season will be very different. It was so important that He changed my view of what the Father's heart was towards me. I often miss the time I had back then to spend with Him, but I know that times and seasons change. I sometimes want to go back to that time when His presence was so real to me and I hungered for Him more than anything. I know God saw what was ahead and I knew He saw that I needed to have a better understanding of His love towards me if I was to speak about Him to children who so desperately needed the love of a good Father. He was preparing me for the work in Norman, and Norman was preparing me for the outreach that will be done here in Ada. I am so busy now, but I know that I am right where He wants me doing exactly what He wants me to do!

Life is very interesting and sometimes you don't see the purpose behind a season in life until it is over. I look back upon my time in Norman with a thankful heart. I also look forward to what God is going to do in Ada. For this time, it won't be just about Him and I only, but rather bringing people into the embrace and love of God that I so desperately needed. I have a long ways to go and I'm sure not perfect, but I can say with confidence that He has changed me quite a bit. I long for that same change to happen in other people. There's nothing like feeling His love and knowing that it's real and not something you've just heard for so many years growing up in church.

Thank you, Lord, for the change in times and seasons of our lives and how you decide when one ends and another begins.