Saturday, September 22, 2012

fall has got to be my favourite season hands down. the humidity is replaced with fresh air, the leaves turn into 50 shades of red [not grey], and i get to wear mittons, yes mittons, only to be taken off to enjoy an ever so delicious pumpkin spice latte. [okay, maybe a few pumpkin spice lattes]. i love fall.

whether you're a huge fan of summer or not, there's something to be said about change.

you see, each season has it's purpose. winter exists to keep the emergency rooms busy with frost-bite victims. summer exists so that families can spend more time with each other [or their apple products] and get a nice tan. spring brings new life, and fall keeps us thankful for ours. each season has its purpose.

and so does the one i'm about to enter.

as most of you know, i just spent a week just outside of chicago scoping out a job that has been offered to me. below is the journey of how i got there. straight out of my journal, in fact.

i feel kind of excited today and trust that i will be taken care of if i make this move. it's been two years in the making, after all.

being involved in oasis youth ministry brought healing to me and sparked my interest in youth ministry again, which is where this whole process 'started', i think.

i felt the need to take a step towards getting back into ministry after second cup, which led me to CSM, followed by a series of events that led me to one voice one team. all the while, God was moving me towards youth pastoring. but where? i exhausted all of my options at this point.

scott contacted me about a youth position in january just to get a feel as to where i was at, and to'plant a seed', as he says. knowing i had a contract to fulfill until june 30th, i put it on the back burner.

may approaches and i hear from him again. only this time he seems more serious, and i'm at a place in my life where i can start considering such an offer. after all, it lines up with everything i felt God was speaking to me over the past few years, and the timing couldn't be better.

a few months later, i'm sitting in second cup with a spiritual mother type figure, telling her how i feel like i'm in a season of transition and i how i can't shake this chicago offer. 'coincidentally', i get home only to find an official "i want you to be my youth pastor" invite.

the rest is history, really. i told scott that there would be three things that need to happen in order for this to work, one of which was a pre-acceptance visit, which is why i flew down there this past week.

my observation? i couldn't ask for a better church and staff to be a part of, so i accepted the position effective january, providing two things work out in the meantime: 1) i get a visa. 2) finances 'fall' into place. in the meantime, i will be looking for a job here in port credit, studying, reading, and doing all that i can to prepare myself for the journey i'm about to embark on.

i don't have a huge booming voice telling me that i need to move to chicago and pastor, but what i do have is a lot of 'gentle pushes' that way. and so i sit here excited, choosing to trust in the God that put this desire in my heart in the first place. what more can one do, really?

"trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path" [proverbs 3:5-6]

2 comments:

  1. Great post! Fall does have that transition feel. Excited for your new adventure in Chi-Town!

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    1. thanks, drew! excited for the time you get to spend with your family AND what's coming down the pipeline for you soon!

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