Ending and Beginnng

I've been thinking about changes and transitions this morning, and how hard it can be to leave behind something that was good for something else that's just as good.

For the past four years I have been a part of the missions committee at my church. My involvement on this committee was a great experience. It was so great to be immersed each month in seeing how God is using faithful men and women to bring the Good News to all corners of the earth, and it was a joy to be a part of the decision-making body ensuring that the church was faithfully stewarding her resources to support this work.

Two weeks ago was my last meeting of this committee. This morning I've been going through old meeting minutes, newsletters, and budgets from committee meetings from the past 4 years. As I read back to the things we talked about, the various updates from different missionaries, the budget challenges we had to work through, I am reminded that changes and transitions are a natural part of life. Some of the missionaries that we supported a few years ago have since moved on to completely different things. Some to a completely different line of work, while others have made less dramatic changes.

As for me, I find myself in a similar transition phase. Just stepping away from a committee may not seem like that big of a deal, in fact some people may greet the end of a committee commitment with relief. But for me that last meeting really signified more than ever this new phase I'm moving into, with stepping away from this church community that I have grown to cherish over the past six years, and moving into a new commitment to plant a new church in another part of the metro area. It's scary and exciting and unknown and great all at the same time. I am eager, nervous, apprehensive, and feel so unqualified to see how God is going to use us to bring the gospel to this part of the metro area. In spite of all these feelings, I am reminded that God is always faithful as I move forward through this transition.