"Gift of Goodbye"

The gift of goodbye is a phrase coined by one of my favorite pastors. (https://www.tdjakes.org/bishop-td-jakes.php)It is a gift that has begun to having meaning for me in the past several years. The gift is in the understanding of something fundamental. Sometimes we try to hold on to things we should let go of and we are better off letting go. Sometimes we get upset by things that leave us and we shouldn't. Sometimes we need to leave and wont because we are concerned by what we are leaving behind. The gift of goodbye is in the understanding that we, most of the time, need to accept that God has a plan, and we need to get in line and follow the plan. Just because someone leaves doesn't mean they are a bad person, it doesn't mean that they, or you, have done anything wrong, it just means that their part in your story is done. The reference comes from the Book of Ruth. Orpah (sp?) didn't do anything wrong in leaving Ruth. Her part in Ruth's story was done. She left Ruth and Naomi, with Naomi's blessings. Its that simple, Ruth had more things to do in Naomi's life, Orpah did not. The sooner we can grasp this, the better of we will be. We should not beg others to stay in our lives when their roll is done, we are better off moving on. We should not allow others to convince us to stay in their lives, it wont work, we have other things we need to do, and so do they. This is a difficult and painful time for people. Nobody likes change. God has a habit of closing doors in front of us, but we need to learn that when a door is closed, we need not worry, fret, fight, or cry about it. We need not bang on the door or try to hold on to what is on the other side of it. What we need to do is turn about face, keep our heads up and eyes open because when God has closed a door to us, another one is standing wide open waiting for us. Blessings are waiting for us to venture down this new path. This is what the Story of Ruth is about. Doors were closed to both Ruth and Naomi, but because they persevered and walked into the open door, many blessings were bestowed on the both. Their blessings came to them from others who were in turn blessed by them as well. Times of change can be difficult, but if we stay in Gods will, greater things are ahead of us and as we walk into this blessings through our troubled time, we will become a blessing to others.

Okay, whats the deal with the mini sermon you might be asking yourself..

Angie and I have decided that Crosspoint Community Church is going to be our new home church. I knew God was closing the door at Hartzell, my part in their story would seem to be over. I am of the belief that for some reason, we are to move to CCC now. I don't know for sure what ministry opportunities, if any, lay waiting on us, but I feel drawn there now. This became clearer to me this past Sunday when the Pastor started talking about Goliath and killing giants, and Grace (the divine kind if Grace) These are things I have had on my heart here as of late and things I have even written about in these blogs. If you note the date of the blog called "Lazarus" you will notice that it was posted before this past Sunday. I don't believe in coincidence so I believe there is a message here for me to take. I only pray that I don't misinterpret the message. Angie and I are going to look into what this place is offering the youth. They seem to have several kids running around, there might be an opportunity to work with youth again at some level. It is also possible that God just wants us to rest under a new teacher for a while and our service is going to come later and require the tools we gain from this new opportunity. Either way, God is leading and as for me and my house, we shall choose to follow. Amen.