A Bittersweet Farewell

Yesterday was our last day at our church, where we had been worshipping and serving for over four years. It was a bittersweet farewell. Why? Well, we have grown a little attached to some of our friends there. We know that we will continue to see them still, so we are happy with that. It was hard to say goodbye though. While we've had our ups and downs there, we know that God brought us there for a reason, and we believe that His hand and His will are in us leaving. We left with the prayers and the blessing of our pastor and the elders.

What does this mean for us? Are we quitting church altogether? Are we moving?

No, we are not quitting. We love the Lord, and we will not forsake the assembling of ourselves with other believers. No, we are not moving (although we ARE praying to find a larger home to rent!). We are simply changing churches. We feel that Papa Bear has possibly been called to be a pastor, church planter or assistant pastor. He loves the Lord so much, and He loves to preach the Gospel. He's really good at it too! We feel, that with the move to our new church, there will be a greater accountability, training, development and possibly a window of opportunity for him to follow his calling. Our new church strongly believes in church planting, and training pastors, church planters and assistants from within. We have spent almost a year praying about the move, and more time than that praying about Papa Bear's calling. We wanted to make sure that this was the Lord's will, and not just our own. We really feel that it is God's will, and so we are very excited about the move. We believe that regardless of his passion that if that is really what the Lord wants for us, then by loving, submitting and serving our new church, God will put us whereever He wants us to be, whether it is by picking up trash, cleaning bathrooms, teaching a Bible class or anything in between.

I'm not quite sure I'm the best choice to possibly be a pastor's wife, but I know that the Lord brought Papa Bear and I together for a reason, and I know that his calling is true, so I know that God will and has equipped me with everything that I need to fulfill my calling. He will give me the strength, the grace, the meekness, etc., that I will need. Thank you God, for showing us so clearly, what you want for us, even if it means moving way out of our comfort zone. We trust you with our lives.

Mama Bear