Two years ago I was preparing my last message for a student ministry that I loved. We were living in Lexington, KY walking through a difficult experience of broken leadership. I remember speaking to that group of students sharing with them about how pain is a part of our world and how God invites us to pursue Him during the moments of pain. I had no idea what the next two years would mean for me, my family, and people I love. Over the last 2 years we have lived in 5 different apartments/houses, we have moved across the country and back again, we have experienced disappointments and transitions without much understanding or support. Our oldest daughter has graduated high school, our other daughter has been in 3 high schools in 3 years, and our son has found it difficult to connect with friends.
There are times where we have been at the point of giving up, having a pity party, or deciding to become overtly self centered, but each time God has provided hope, assurance of who He is and who He has made us to be. We still have plenty of days where we want answers from God as to why we went through the last two years, but it is becoming easier to not get distracted in the why of the past, but instead focusing on the purpose of the future. We are not experts of transitions but we have become deeper followers of Jesus. Things we have learned on this part of our journey:
- Don’t wait for answers – when difficult things happen, don’t wait for answers, they will probably never come or the answer you get will not be helpful
- Pursue God – No matter what happened, it wasn’t God’s fault, He was and is with you if you let Him be there. Sometimes pursuing God is running full on towards Him and sometimes pursuing God is making a baby step forward. God’s faithfulness is bigger than you can imagine – He can take your anger and give grace back, He can take your lostness and give you a path toward freedom.
- Make Memories – in the middle of uncertainty, don’t forget to make memories with your family. Work at breaking down the walls within you family so that you can keep reminding each other of how important they are. Hurt people, hurt each other. Loving people, love each other.
- Do Something for Other People – Go out of your way to care for people, do something nice for people, volunteer in a soup kitchen, take cookies to your neighbor, serve at a food packing organization. Do this without expecting anything in return. Let the joy of serving help you remember who you are!
After the last 2 years we have felt like we have been through a battle, but we are more certain than ever that God has a plan for our lives and that He loves us more for who we are than what we do for Him. So, we close the chapter on these two years and begin a new chapter optimistically looking at what’s next.