As many of you probably know by now, I was out in Minnesota for about a week and a half interviewing for a job as the worship leader of Beacon of Hope Church in St. Paul. It's been a couple of weeks since I returned to California and I have kept myself busy: visiting friends and telling them how my trip went, preparing to lead a couple more Sundays at my home church in Redlands, cheering for the Red Sox in the MLB postseason and (more importantly) waiting to hear back from Pastor Steve and the leadership at Beacon about the position.
I haven't really been waiting in much suspense, though. As Pastor Steve was taking me back to the Minneapolis airport, he told me that he had been hearing a lot of good things from me about the church and from the church about me. We didn't have much time to talk that morning, but he gave me a tentative offer for the job and a rough estimate on what my responsibilities/salary would look like, with the promise that an official job description would follow after he had time to confer more with the elders and leadership. That's really what I've been waiting for.
Well, I woke up on Friday morning and saw that I had missed the pastor's email the previous night. The church had come up with a detailed job description for me and wanted to hear back soon so that they could update the congregation. It took me a little while after getting the email to send in a confirmation, simply because I wanted to continue praying about the decision and talk with my parents a little more about the process of moving out and everything. However, around 6:00 Pacific time last night, I did send in my "acceptance email" telling Pastor Steve my intention to take the position, as well as my tentative plan for when I would move out to St. Paul.
This is a really exciting step. I have seen the Lord work in so many ways not only to prepare me for this move but also in the interview process. My friend Alyssa Delahunt told me about the possibility, and within a week I was on the phone with Pastor making tentative plans to visit the church and see if I would be a good fit in their ministry. A month later I was out in St. Paul having the time of my life, and now a couple weeks later I am preparing to move out there for real. Only the Lord could have orchestrated how this all worked out. I am confident that He has many good things in store both for me and for the church as a result of this.
As with every big decision, there are some drawbacks as well. I was blessed to go to college only an hour and a half away from my family, and now I am moving 2000 miles away from them. This really hit me Friday night when my dad and I explained to my brother Aaron that my first trip to Minnesota was just a "trial run" as it were, that I would be living out there and not coming back to the homestead except for big events and holidays (maybe). When we told him that, his face could've dropped through the floor, and my heart broke a little. And he's not the only one my heart breaks for. I'll be moving far away from my lovely girlfriend Shannon, who still has two years of schooling at The Master's College. Fortunately, we have been able to talk at great length about this, and she is excited at the prospect of me having a job doing what I love, and that it will bring us one step closer to marriage in the future.
Of course this is going to be hard, but that doesn't mean I'm going to shy away from it. I have been reminded from Proverbs 16 that we may plan where we go, but it is really the Lord who guides us. Here's just a few snippets from that chapter:
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
(v.1, 3, 7, 9)
I know that I, as well as many many others, have been praying for my trip and the results from it, and the Lord clearly seems to be guiding in this direction. Who am I to say no to an opportunity to serve the Lord by doing what He has gifted me to do in the place where He has called me?
Please continue to pray for me as we continue to determine the best course of action: when I'll leave, where I'll be living, any other employment I'll need to find, etc. Please pray that God would continue to swing open doors and confirm His calling me to such a wonderful calling. May God ultimately be glorified in all of this!
Soli Deo Gloria
Soli Deo Gloria