I was not born here. I did not grow up here. I'm a pastor's kid and my dad was called here 2 weeks before I started my first year in college (1995). Here is CONNECTICUT. Hartford to be exact. I used to loathe CT & all things New England when my parents, sister and brother (did you catch that I did not include myself lol) first moved to the "860"!
There was the fact that we were now further away from our home base in Philly! It was the fact that all of my friends were in Plainfield, NJ! It was the fact that my parents decided to accept this pastoral call a month or so after I graduated from high school. And two weeks before I was due to show up at Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC as a First Year Student.
I hated that in the span of 12 years that our family packed up and moved several times between Philadelphia, PA, Rochester, NY Plainfield, NJ, and then Bloomfield, CT! What was with my parents? Didn't they know and care about the friends we had in each location? Didn't they care about the health of our relationships with our cousins back home in Philly? I did not understand it then. But I get it now.
Funny thing is now when I return to Hartford, CT area this sweet love affair is resurrected. Because truly it ain't really about where you are it is who you are with! Hartford, specifically is where I learned how to share spoken word, heard God's voice calling me to ministry, married my boyfriend and gave birth to all three of our children. Hartford is where I began to practice ministry. My heart is in Hartford.
But sometimes you have to pack it all up & go. Going where The Lord has called you to learn, serve and mature is part of what It means to journey with Christ. I was born in South Jersey. My parents met in Philly where they grew up. Philly was where grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and Godparents were and where many still are. But when God is your Shepherd you go where the Shepherd is leading you. You take the risk, you count the cost and go anyway.
We may not know all the details involved in the moves but if we know God then the details really don't matter. If we believe God to be provider, friend, parent, then I strongly encourage you to get to know Him as your travel agent too!
As I reflect on the 2nd anniversary of our move to the DMV (DC, MD, VA region), I am happy we took the risk. I am happy that we took that huge leap of FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE! When my husband & I packed up our family on that Thursday night to move to MD, we had not secured housing yet but our relationship was secure with The Lord. We had not registered the children for school yet but we were registered with Yahweh! We had no idea how close the supermarkets, post office, new home church or the mall was going to be in comparison to where we would live but we trusted God to provide.
I pray on this day that you get to know God as your Personal Master Travel Agent! He knows the road before you even recognize the street signs and road markings! He knows what lies ahead before you even realize there is a reason to detour!
Today, I encourage you to release your need to know all things and to trust God for ONE THING. Your life. GOD knows more about our lives from beginning to end and all up in the middle to charter a course that matures us, gives us adventure, and a hope as we journey along.
Today, I hope you take to heart Jeremiah 29:11 and being to believe or strengthen your belief that your future & HOPE is secure with The One who made it!
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