"These words I am commanding you today must be kept in mind, and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. You should tie them as a reminder on your forearm and fasten them as symbols on your forehead. Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and gates. “ Deuteronomy6:7-9
Tuesday and today I did not write a blog post. This past Friday morning I drove down to Birmingham to my youngest daughter Milan’s house. And I spent the weekend working on projects and repairs that needed done to her home then drove back Sunday evening. Monday I worked all day. Then Tuesday morning I left at 3:30am and drove up to Chicago. My daughter Paris has just moved up there and I went up to spend the week helping her and working with her real-estate agent in finding her a home to purchase. If things go as planned I will drive back this Saturday. Ah the things we do for our children!!
I remember back to before Nancy and I left our home after her water broke with our first daughter Paris and we were walking out the door to head to the hospital. Nancy stopped at the front door and told me to turn around and look back into our house. And we did. She said, When we return it will never be the same.” And she was right! And now 25 years later, Nancy and I are walking into a home that again will never be the same, as our daughters have moved out to live on their own and begin their new lives.
And as my wife Nancy and I try to help our daughters with all of the unknown and uncertainty that lies ahead of them, it was a reminder to me of all the inevitable, constant, continual change that occurs in our lives. For Paris to continue on in all that God has in store for her it requires a change in her life’s structure and surroundings, A release of the comfortable, the famiilar places and faces, and a going forth into the new, uncertain, yet wonderful adventure God has for her. And it requires a releasing and encouraging to go by her family. The only thing that is constant in life is change.
In our walk with Christ the only thing that is constant, besides the Father, is change. For us and the church to continue into all God has in store for us and our calling also requires a change in The Church’s structure and surroundings. A release of the comfortable and familiar and a going forth into the new, uncertain, yet wonderful adventure Jesus has for us as his bride.
I am reminded of a quote, “A ship in the harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are built for.” John A. Shedd. My daughters were safe at home, but that is not what God designed them for. And The Church is safest gathered in a building, but that is not what God designed it for.
My family, I pray today you will listen to the Holy Spirit and embrace the calling and adventure God is calling you to enter into outside of your comfort zone: your structured life; your familiar faces; your safety net of familiarity, family and friends; your churches “Sanctuary”. All these things which have become your “safe harbor.” And I pray you will set sail out into the adventure you were built for by God. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!!
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