the right decision

earlier tonight i tweeted this message "just because it's the right decision does not mean that sometimes it's not going to be difficult to make". hopefully the point is coming across because i am way emotional and tired right now. so here is the deal... chris and i are no longer attending the gathering.

when we first started going to the gathering we always said we would never allow the distance to be an issue and truth be told while it was frustrating at times we stuck it out. after the move to the new building it became more and more challenging to get there and to do it with a good attitude. my dad said to me, "you guys have so much to offer a church and there is no reason God can't use you at a church closer to home" and while we agreed we also knew the gathering was the place for us; for a season.

a few months ago i stepped down from creative arts and chris stepped down from kidsplayce because our hearts were not in the right place and there were some unresolved issues that needed to be dealt with. when they were finally "fixed" and chris and i were preparing to start serving again it was difficult partially because we, predominately me, were feeling wounded and a little overwhelmed. in the time we were away much had changed and we didn't really feel as though it was our church any more. god was preparing us months before we realized it, for a move.

i was more willing to take the leave than chris was, but i began asking God that if this was His will for Him to show us and allow chris to lead our family where God wanted us instead of where we wanted us. and like we anticipated it has been a very bittersweet few weeks. we have since found our place back somewhere that chris once stated he would never return to. that God, i tell you, He has a sense of humor! but the relationships we leave behind in sevierville make it hard to leave. even in the last few months we just haven't seen our "family" hardly at all. the distance makes it hard and not serving together at the same church makes it harder. the sweetness of all this is we are reconnecting with those people whom we were very tightly knit with when we were first married.

a lot can change in two years and chris and i believe that God had us at the gathering in order to change us for the better. we also believe that God moved us away from where we were orignally in order to allow changes to take place at that church so we could come back and serve together with them again. so we have made the right decision, we believe, but there are times when it's hard and hurts. but that is ok because God is going to do mighty things with us as long as we continue to walk in His will and plan.