Tough Call

My journal entry reads Sunday April 27th 2008 "Father, if you want Clint & I to leave this church please show us how. We want to serve you. We want to please you. How do we know when to leave? Why do I think we need to leave?”

After speaking with a friend later this week, she in not so many words but with tears confirmed my hearts question. I began to moan, cry out. I felt like I was mourning the loss of a dear friend. “How Lord?”

Later that week three different times, on three separate occasions the name of Fielder Road was whispered to me. Great things were spoken about their children’s program, the senior pastor, and it was on my list of churches to visit from Dallas Theological Seminary list of alumni pastors. This is also the church that my dear sweet brother and his family attend.

Well, we were very busy in May and it proved to be a very trying time for us. We decided to take a month off from all of our church and homegroup responsibilities.

Meanwhile, I had began a bible study of a book called “A Woman After God’s Own Heart” by Elizabeth George. It was nice to dig into a study that would help me to focus on the ministry of my home and marriage. The following week we went on vacation. We were celebrating our 15th year wedding anniversary and decided to take the kids to Port Aransas for a few days.

I will never forget it. I was sitting at the end of the couch in this brightly decorated condo- all curled up with my bible and my lesson. Clint and the kids were asleep. The place was quiet. Just me and God. I was flipping through trying to find a verse for my bible study and that’s when a small verse popped out at me. I was stunned. I looked around, as if someone were watching.

Ecclesiastes 3:2 “there is a time to plant and a time to uproot.”

Wow. Here we have been praying about whether to stay or leave and this is the scripture I read. Uproot? Uproot from what God? In order to uproot there must be something deeply planted. This was my confirmation that in fact, we were to leave this church. We had been at this church for 10 years.

So we visit a few churches throughout the summer and realizing my need to be of a more submissive wife, I asked my husband again. Still-he had no clear answer. We attended Fielder for the first time in August and he did not feel spoken to. (That week they introduced the entire Children's Program ministry team and had a panel discussion) So I am thinking maybe I am wrong? Two weeks later we visited Fielder again. This time we surely felt the call. When we took Seth to first grade class he saw two of his best buddies from school. Ava had no problem going to her class- she was excited about 'tasting a new food' that morning. We settled into the sermon and I could tell Clint immediately took to the pastor’s style of speaking. He told me, “I felt as if he was talking directly to me.” Then there was another scripture confirmation of

Psalm 32:8 “I will teach you and instruct the way you should go.”

Anyone who knows me can tell you this scripture has been my 'life verse' this year. My Father in Heaven has been teaching me new things this past year. I just wanted to cry. While we were leaving Clint also ran into a man who made a deep impression of him- his first Discussion Leader from his Men’s Bible Study Fellowship.

When we left he told me “There is no doubt, that is where we are supposed to be.”

A little later that week, the second week in September he called the shepherd of our community group from PBC and told him the news. He got off the phone and said, “I told him, but he said he needs me to teach this Sunday.” I said, “Honey, I want to be supportive but I also think that it will be confusing and hard for the kids. “I know,” he said, “But I really feel like I need to help him.” Then I asked, “Well, what is the passage you will be teaching this Sunday?” He said, “I don’t know why don’t you go pull up the scroll online.” So I pull the scroll up online and print it off. To our amazement it was Ecclesiastes 3. God is truly amazing. His timing is perfect. His ways are not our ways...

Ecclesiastes 3 (New International Version)
A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain from his toil?
10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

Clint said, “That is phenomenal.” We knew for sure God had spoken. He did teach at PBC that day. He told everyone in our Sunday morning community group that sadly, we were no longer going to be attending PBC. He told them it was this verse that was laid on our hearts in June that confirmed it. He met us for the 11 am service at our new church Fielder Road Baptist Church. It was definitely a tough call. We love our Pantego Bible Church family very much but know that God knows what is best for us.