Is it easy for you to accept changes? It is not always easy for me. There have been changes with our church which are good and I am excited about, but a still they are changes. I woke at 3 Monday morning and could not go back to sleep for over an hour. I thought of how our church was moving in a different direction and changing names. Not everyone is going with us in this change. I know it is OK and we will still be friends, but I will miss seeing them weekly. I will miss them participating in our small groups. The more I tossed and turned the sadder I became. I felt alone and unloved. I prayed and poured out my heart to the Lord about how I was feeling! I finally fell asleep. Ever been there? When I woke that morning I felt drained, sad and had a headache.
At ten o'clock I received an email from a friend in Minnesota:
Just wanted you to know how you have been on my heart. I love you.
Yes, I cried. I knew that the Lord had put me on her heart! I wrote her back and as soon as she received my email she called me. My heart felt lighter the more we talked. I felt loved...by God and by her.
Last night I received another email. This one was from a friend that lives near me:
I love you so much and miss you…do you know that? It is true, I do!!! Also, I
want you to know that I think about you and pray for you often. I know that
there are so many changes going on with the church and I just think about your
heart and how you are dealing with longtime friends leaving. I can imagine that
it is hard for you to see all the changes. I know it would be hard on me. I
was thanking the Lord just the other day that I didn’t have to go through any of
it. Change is hard. I am not looking for any details, I just wanted you to
know that I love you and I am praying for you.
I cried again. How good of God to speak to two friend's hearts letting them know some of what I had only told Him. How precious of them to pray for me and then to let me know they care.
Today, I'm not sad, I don't feel alone, and I feel loved. I will surely have these emotions again and I hope when I do I will remember God's faithfulness to fill my heart with His love and joy. I am so thankful to Him for His lovingkindness and to my friends for hearing God.
4 comments:
It's so easy to become so comfortable with the way things are --- kind of like an old recliner that has molded itself to our shape and the way we sit. We just can't give it up for a new one. There is that old saying that says, "If you aren't moving forwards, you are moving backwards -- you can't stand still." I've been on the other end of where you are ---- when a church should have moved on and changed and did not --- and it died. Completely died and shut its doors. If the changes are in line with what the Bible teaches and will edify and build up the Christians there while being a light and testimony to the community around it, then the changes are good. The losses of friendships hurt, but I know that the Lord has great things in store for you. He knows the plans He has for you, and they are for your good!
God's timing is always perfect, isn't it? And I love how He uses people to encourage us at the right time.
I love that you shared this. How wonderful. It is so true that He will meet our needs & did so in such a sweet way by using your friends. You are a special lady & I am blessed to call you friend too. Love ya!
A very happy Easter to you and your family!
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