"Seek and ye shall find..."

"How lovely is thy dwelling place, Oh mighty Lord.
There's a hunger deep inside my soul
Only in Your Presence - Is my heart and flesh restored
How lovely is Your dwelling place."

We find ourselves in an unusual and slightly awkward place these days. Here we are seeking God's will about just where we are to be. Not where to preach or minister, but where to be. Just where to be. In a way, it is kind of a relief, not having to worry about the services, the teaching, the activities, the attendance, all the things that go with the pastoral ministry. But in another way it feels sad, as if we are useless. Now why would that be? We don't have to be in charge to be of use, so we must go back to where we began - serving the Lord. Just serving Him. And that will be wherever He leads us.

We have visited a few different Churches. Each one has been different than our last charge. The last one God led us to was small - small and intimate. It was a place where love for one another was true and strong. It was a place that we grew to love and felt a part of. It was not growing in numbers as we had hoped, but spiritually we as a Church family, seemed to be growing and living out what the Lord's commands are for His followers. We loved that Church. We still do.

Today the Church we visited seemed like a walk back in time, for it looked so much like the one we both grew up in, where we gave our hearts to Jesus, were baptized, trained about the Bible, married and where my husband even first served as Assistant Pastor on the staff to help the aging and ill Senior Pastor.

Today's Church was an older congregation and appeared to be struggling as many are today. The music was a mix of gorgeous organ and piano music with a tired but probably faithful choir. We wondered if this was the place for us or should we keep looking. We will pray and listen and wonder what is ahead. God has opened doors we never expected in the past. If we trust Him, then we will hear and follow and hopefully serve in obedience. The hard part is to empty out our own thoughts and listen to His direction.....