Moving On

Now that it is official, I can share an opportunity that has recently come my way. While in Ghana earlier this summer I met one of the leaders of a seminary there. As we talked I told him that I would love to teach in a seminary in Africa someday. We spoke a few more times after our initial meeting, and to make a long story short, I was invited to come and teach there this fall.

The position is a missionary one (translation: unpaid), but I consider it a great honor and privilege to serve in this capacity. I have always loved to teach, and I am very excited about the opportunity. I will dearly miss my family and one of my favorite times of the year (Fall) at home, but I am confident this is what I am supposed to do right now.

These are strange days for me. I have spent the last few months discovering that what worked for me so well for so many years no longer works. The things that drove me even after my call to ministry: influence, success, affection and praise, now all seem hollow and empty. Something inside me is dying and yet at the same time, something new is also being born. I am convinced that the years that lie behind me, with all their struggles and pain, will in time be remembered only as the road that eventually led to my - to our - new life.

The thought that for a while I am to live away from family, friends, and all the other things that make my life what it is today is a little scary, but I am confident that as I move into this new territory it will be the place where I will finally learn what it means to fully surrender to Jesus' Lordship and the Spirit's guidance. A time and place where I'll stop fighting with God over who is in control and acknowledge my powerlessness. A place where I will hopefully someday be able to join Jesus in his prayer of absolute trust: "Your will be done, not mine."

I'm not sure exactly where this path will eventually lead, but every day I'm on it I'm discovering more about how much the One who has me on this journey loves me, and that makes every faltering step worth taking.