               
Revealed Heart Ministries
In the Heart of the Appalachian Mountains
Tazewell, Virginia 24651 (276) 988-8080 |
November 2003 Stepping Stones
If you were to have told me 12 months ago that I would be moving to the
Appalachian mountains of South West Virginia, I would have laughed and
said, "Never in a million years!" Yet here we are, living on the side of a
mountain in Tazewell, a town of just 4000 people.
The way God leads His children is still a marvel to me. Early this year
Kathryn and I both felt that our time in Topeka was coming to an end. As
we prayed, sought the Lord and talked together, we felt most strongly that
we should be moving to Houston, Texas. So in March, during Spring
Break, we took a trip to Houston (that was a hair-raising experience but this
is not the time to tell THAT story!). It was a very busy time and we left
having picked out a beautiful house in a pleasant sub-division
(make that "neighbourhood" for my friends across the pond), good schools for Emelia,
one interview with a large school district under my belt and a certainty that
this was where the Lord was calling us. Ultimately I had applications in six
school districts in Houston.
.
Soon after, Kathryn decided she would begin to sell her book library on Ebay to raise money to help finance the move. Within in a short while, she was receiving emails from a couple who live only a few miles from where we are now living. They expressed a desire for us to move to this area, as there was no one with our combination of gifts and expertise here. As some of you are aware, we prayed about this separately and both felt the "pull" of the Spirit to this area. We abandoned our plans to move to Texas (incidentally, I never received one job offer, something a Houstonian said had to be God because math teachers are ALWAYS in short supply) and began planning the move here.
Despite several setbacks in our search for a home, we left Topeka at the end of June; the three of us crammed into the cab of a 24 ft. U-Haul with our car on a trailer behind. We arrived in Tazewell weary, with me having no income or job offer, a house half way down a hillside (we thought we could never manage the steep, crumbling steps) and the peace of the Lord in our hearts!
Since that time, we have seen God's provision to us in many different ways. I was offered a teaching post in a nearby town, teaching algebra to High School students just two weeks before the start of the school year! Our faith has been stretched in ways we did not imagine and we are stronger for it. We are members of a local Baptist Church. Not where we expected to be but thankful because of the wonderful sense of community there is amongst the believers there. Truly they have the Lord's compassion deep in their hearts. So, after all this rambling, where does this leave us? Our experience in a small way reminds me of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting
away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light
and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that
far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For
what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Cor 4:17-18 (NIV)
We could easily have despaired when we realized that we were not to move to the bustling metropolis of Houston but the tiny town of Tazewell. Had we misheard? Did we have our guidance wrong? I don't think so. Much more I believe that this was most definitely the Lord's path for us, His way of showing us where to be. If we hadn't stepped on the stone of moving to Houston, Kathryn would not have stepped on the stone of selling her library and we would not have been able to step onto the next stone, our present destination, Tazewell, Virginia... which has just today led us to the next stone-- opening our ministry office and counseling center right on Main Street!
Brothers and Sisters, our walk with the Lord is not a tightrope, something
we can fall off so easily. It is a path that He leads us on. He sees the way
ahead perfectly. We do not. We easily become distracted or let our focus
be drawn in one direction when the Lord would have us seeing further
ahead than we are. But do not despair. He is the good shepherd who
cares for his sheep. If you are following Him to the best of your ability, He
will not chastise you for your mistakes, if they even are mistakes. Enjoy
basking in His presence and His love. You will experience a peace you
would not believe possible.
Praying for you to experience EVERY blessing the Lord has for you.... |
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