The Call....

June 2010
I'm at a finance team meeting at church, preparing the budget for the coming year. Pastor Dale shares with us that Pastor Matt & Brooke will be leaving the church sometime within the next year. They have a call to plant a church in Fishers, IN. I was really upset with the news. Matt & Brooke are in our life group and our life group is very close. We were told not to tell anybody, so I didn't even share it with Doug.

That Sunday, Matt preached. Driving home, I was thinking about how much I would miss them and hated that they were leaving. I almost said it to Doug, but remembered that I hadn't told him. On Wednesday, I almost said something again and decided that I would just have to share with him. It's not like Doug's a big talker and would go and tell everybody :) So, Wednesday morning, I told him and it hit me that they're going to Fishers. That's the town right next to my sister! I was so excited to tell her about it that night. We always had a weekly phone conversation while Austin was at switch!

Over the summer, Kimberly and I would talk often about the church and Matt and Brooke. Kimberly was really excited to be involved once it came. Never was anything mentioned of even the possibility of Doug and I moving to help plant the church.

October 2010
Matt announces to our life group that they are leaving to plant a church in Indiana. It comes out that I have known for awhile and that it's basically right where my sister lives. Mary turns and looks at me and says "you're not going too, are you?" I said "No way! We're not moving here until Doug can retire, he's got way too good of a job."

November 2010
Went to church one Sunday, just like every other Sunday. Pastor Matt gets up to preach and I start crying. I was thinking, man, I like the guy, but this is ridiculous! I felt God say "maybe you should be praying about if you should go with them." On the way home from church, I tell Doug and he says "maybe we should." Matt had shared that others had come to him and asked if they should go with him. He told them to fast and pray for 30 days and then come back to him. So, we didn't say anything to anybody. I fasted facebook and Doug fasted the computer as a whole.

Doug and I had never joined together in fast and prayer over anything. It was huge step for us, not only spiritually, but also as a couple. I told myself, maybe God just wants us to fast and pray together. My prayers were very specific and always the same. I wanted a very clear answer from God. Not signs, not coincidences, not feelings. I wanted to hear God say "Go". This was a huge thing. Doug is probably not going to be able to be a police officer there. Most departments have an age limit that Doug is above. If he could find a police job, the pay would be much less than he makes now and he would more than likely be on 2nd shift again. So, for us to take this step, I wanted to know FOR SURE that it was from God. Then I would know he has a plan for us. He has a path for us. He has a job, a house, everything we need already in the makings.

A little over a week later, I was talking to my sister and she was having a really bad day. So, I told her not to get excited but that we were praying and fasting about coming with Matt and Brooke. She started crying. I told her "that's why I wasn't going to tell you!" She agreed to pray with us as well. Not that God would call us there, but that he would clearly show us His will.

That Friday, we're at lifegroup and I mention that I'm fasting facebook. Jesse asks me why and so I share that we're praying about if we should go with Matt and Brooke. I look over at Brooke and she has a huge smile on her face. Everyone agreed to pray with us, that God would give us a clear answer. I realize now how much we needed prayer support, and how much we'll need it going forward. I tend to keep things to myself and that's not the best thing to do. I'm so thankful for an amazing life group that actually does life with us!

Coming home from church that Sunday, I ask Doug if he has felt anything, one way or the other about going. He says "not since that first Sunday." I was like "what do you mean?" He answered "well, you remember that first Sunday when you said you felt God say we should pray about going? Well, I felt it to, but I wasn't going to say anything if you didn't say something first." I said "you never told me that!" He said "that's because you said something!" Wow! I was so shocked. I thought Doug was just praying because I said we should; but, God had spoken to both of us, at the same service! I cried as I typed this. How amazing!

December 2010
The coming Sunday would be 28 days of our fast and prayer. I joked with everyone, my lifegroup and Kim that I was pretty sure God was going to answer me on that day. Nate had prayed about going and God answered him on day 28. We go to church and Matt even preached and I felt nothing. I was really disappointed. I had prayed for so long, so faithfully, so specifically and nothing. Mary and Brooke talked with me after the service to see if I had an answer and I said no. Doug just stood there and when I said something to him he said "you don't listen very well." I said "you think we should go." He said "yes". Later, I found out that during the last song, he heard God say "go" and when he said "is this my answer?" God said "yes, go."

Monday morning was rough. I had a very bad morning. To pray, to fast, to read my bible faithfully and not get an answer, I felt so let down. It was supposed to be this amazing God moment in my life, and nothing.

For the past couple of years I have really been working on allowing Doug to step up and be the man of the house. He is very passive and I'm more forceful, so just naturally I tend to take the lead. I have really felt convicted by God that this is not right and have been trying hard to take a step back. My sister knows all of this for I share pretty much everything with her. So, we go to Indiana that following weekend for my mom's wedding. On Saturday night, Kim asks me how it's going and I told her that I didn't feel God tell me to go but Doug did. She starts crying and says that we're so coming! She reminded me of how I have been trying to let Doug be the head of our home. She also said what a huge deal it was for Doug to say he felt we should go. He's leaving his family and an occupation. For him to say we're going, and want to go....that's huge! These were things I had told myself during the week, but I still wanted a clear "go" from God!

We ended up heading home on Saturday night because a blizzard was coming. We got up and went to church on Sunday morning. We had dinner scheduled with Matt & Brooke early that coming week to talk about Fishers and our possible call. So, we see Matt before church and were talking to him. I told him I still didn't have an answer, but I really thought I wanted to know now and God wanted to tell me in His time. Church starts and Matt gets up to preach and in my mind I say to God "I'm ready to hear the answer in Your time, not mine." I immediately hear "I was ready to tell you six months ago (in June when I found out they were leaving). Do you think it's a coincidence that they started a lifegroup right when you started looking for one? No, I specifically placed you with them, to develop a relationship with them. To grow to love them. Do you think it's a coincidence that they're starting a church within 10-15 minutes of your sister? How long have you had a desire to be near your family? Do you think it's a coincidence that Doug can retire after 8 years and he hit the 8 year mark last month? No, my child, this is my perfect, divine plan for you."

I still am in awe of that. That God has a plan for me! I'm nothing special, have no major skills, but God is going to use me to plant a church that is going to change lives! I have so much more to share, but I'll leave those for another day. Thanks for letting me share! I'm so excited to complete the story over the next several months and years.