my friends left....again...

Well, it happened again.  My friends left me again. They left this morning.  Donnie and Ashley Jones have gone to pursue a call to a church in Alabama.  

I have long been a part of the youth ministry here at HBC.  When Dan left I thought everything would just stop.  He built something special with our youth that I thought would never be captured by anyone else.  Then, they named Ryan and me the interim youth ministers.  That was hard....and truly frightening.  We had to begin to draw lines between friendship and leadership.  This was a difficult task and we made some people mad at us.  I seriously thought that we would not be in HBC any longer...it really was tough.

Then Donnie and Ashley came with a fresh view of ministry.  It was great!  I  loved everything they implemented.  We spent so much time with them and grew to love them very, very much.  We learned things about them that drew us closer as friends.  We bought our homes close together and the precious moments spent drinking coffee with them or just having dinner with them made everything just seem so right.

But.....Why is it, though, that when you think you've finally gotten everything figured out and found a comfortable spot where God wants you to be He does like a fruit basket turnover and just lobs everything up in the air?  

I know, now, why God began to call me away from the youth ministry.  We weren't supposed to be the ones named as interim...again.  First of all we didn't want it...second of all God didn't want us there.  LOL...hmmm He always has a better way, doesn't He?  I am confident in the man of God that has taken the interim position and I know He is totally gonna do a mighty work!!   

It still hurts, though, to know that my friends aren't right down the street anymore.  They aren't there anymore to just walk down and hang out.  They aren't there anymore to just ask to lunch.  They aren't gonna be there in their same seat on Wednesday nights.  They aren't gonna be there on Sunday afternoon to go to lunch with.  They won't be here to plan trips with or go to camp or laze around at Schlitterbahn.  It's so hard to let go.  I wonder.....would people be this sad if I moved?  Would people care?  Would the teenagers be over at my house each night trying to soak up every last minute they could with me?  Hmmm....

Anyway, although I am sad I am also really excited to hear what my friends can report on how God is using them in Mobile.  I know that they have heard God call and they answered Him.  I need to shed no more tears because I know that the reason they left is because of the One who called them...and they were faithful.  They were faithful to go.  I pray that I can be as faithful if God calls me....when He calls me.