The End of an Era

(The year we moved to Redding - 2003)

You call me out upon the waters; 

the great unknown where feet may fail.  

And there I find You in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand.

I never thought I’d write this.  I’d never thought I’d be so willing to do so.

Moving to Redding over 13 years ago was one of the most fruitful acts of obedience we could have ever taken.  Never in a million years could we have imagined what would have happened here.

Wilderness.

Healing.

Freedom.

Roots.

Relationship.

Friendship.

Brokenness.

Sacrifice.

Depth.

Discovery.

Brokenness.

Family.

Life.

Death.

Resurrection.

Faith.

Presence.

Wisdom.

Foolishness.

Sin.

Redemption.

Love.

Renewal.

Calling.

Did I mention Brokenness.

Revelation.

Covenant.

Faithfulness.

Pain.

Joy.

Peace.

More. Of. God.

Experiencing the unimaginable depths of God and community made it so I never wanted to leave. 

But…

One thing NOT on this list is comfortable.  Don’t get me wrong; we have experienced the Holy Spirit’s comfort to our very core.  But being comfortable is a place we haven't spent much time in. 

Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders; 

Let me walk upon the waters, wherever You would call me. 

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander; 

and my faith will be made stronger in the Presence of my Savior.

God has been faithful to answer the prayers of these lyrics before we even prayed them.  Now that we have prayed them, watched Him answer them, we still pray them.  Why?  Because Jesus is good. Period.

So what am I willing to say that I swore I never would?  It’s time to go.  Like He told Abram (before he was Abraham), Go… leave all that you know, your families, friends, community, (my paraphrasing) to a land in which I will show you.  He’s accomplished in us and through us what He wanted to while in this place, and now it’s time to go.

Your grace abounds in deepest waters.  

Your sovereign hand will be my guide.  

Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me, 

You’ve never failed and You won’t start now.

Our faithful, loving Father has made this extremely clear, which He knew my heart needed.  He has been walking me through this for the last 2 years, slowly uprooting my heartstrings that are so firmly planted here.  It has been a very difficult season of transition – still being in the place in which I’ve been uprooted from, with dangling roots, just waiting to be transplanted to new ground.  Yet, this is just another opportunity to trust – that we are not forgotten, that He has a plan, and that we are smack-dab in the middle of it.  

For most of these 2 years we haven't known where He was leading us.  Only that He was.  But now we know.  In less than a month we will be moving to Colorado Springs as Matt has just begun a new position with a company that could not fit him more perfectly.  With that this will also be my last post on this blog as I, too, will be starting something new.

So just as an act of obedience brought us to Redding, we choose obedience again in leaving it.  That first one released God’s power to change our lives forever.  This next one will release His power to forever change future generations (so we’ve been told, and fully believe).

Ya know… with God's sense of humor I should’ve seen this coming.  With Matt’s middle name, Abraham, and my name, Sarah… I should’ve known that we would be called to “go” more than once, and that our greatest impact for the Kingdom would be to be known by our trust in God; that we believe Him no matter what.  And maybe nothing more.  And maybe that’s enough.

Jesus, you are my God.

I will call upon Your name.

Keep my eyes above the waves.

My soul will rest in Your embrace.

I am Yours, and You are mine.

(The year we say goodbye to Redding - 2016)

*Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) Lyrics by: Hillsong United