23...a year of growth and change

I love to write.

You may not be able to see this due to my lack of motivation to update my blog; but ask anyone who knows me best and they will tell you that I am a writer.

A review of the past year:
After Jeremy and I got back from Canada, we processed the trip and the time we spent there. We had a whirlwind of emotions coming back to real life once again. We longed to sell our house, move to Boston, and go to seminary so we could go overseas quickly.

Yet God's timing is not our's; and He has us in Birmingham for a reason beyond our understanding.

We cannot sell our house. We could sell our house, but the loss we would have to take is too great of one and would be a constant financial strain on our marriage for many years to come. So we wait. Impatiently at times. Relying on Him to direct our path and show us where to go and what to do.

This time has been frustrating, confusing, and stressful at times. We have good intentions—to go overseas and make disciples of all nations. How could God allow us to be trapped here if we had such good intentions.

Yet He is saying, "Wait only upon Me." And so this time of waiting has turned into a time of growth...and change. My dreams have become less and less important when compared to His glory among all peoples. I do think He will eventually bring my dreams into fruition, but it will be with Him receiving all the glory and will not be because of anything I do.

Jeremy and I see this time as a time of intentional growth: toward each other, toward God, toward those we love. This may not be our ideal place to be. But it is where God has us and we do not want to waste this time.

So we invest: in each other, in our small groups, in the students at Pelham High School, in the people in downtown Birmingham, in WMU, in our church family, in our friends, in our family, and in those we are surrounded by. This has brought me the most joy. God does not call us to a place; He calls us to Himself and to tell others about Him.

"The story about the forest is so much more important than the story about the tree."

I'm learning that this life will be different than what I originally planned or thought. But it is good. And it is right. And I am learning to trust Him and His ways. And I am growing closer to Him each day and I walk this journey with Him and with my husband. And I am thankful for this time (I may need people to remind me of this), but I am truly thankful for this time in life to rest, to read, to write, to respond to Him, and to love on His people around me.

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." -1 John 4:16