Saturday, May 18, 2013

A Very Good Place to Start

Let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? This route will take us way back to the beginning of this whole adventure.  Not to the 80's and 90's, which are arguably the best decades there ever were, but to 2009. The fall to be exact.

The question was, "would you be interested in planting a church in Baton Rouge?" My answer was, "no."  Simple question, simple answer.  Thankfully, Jake's answer was somewhere closer to yes and we agreed to pray about it.  I could have given you a long list as to why it was not for me, the least of which was that it wasn't glamorous enough (I knew so little back then...).  But since I had agreed to PRAY about it, I put my feelings aside and listened to Someone who is much smarter and more gracious than I am.  Consistently, Jake and I both felt like God was asking us a counter-question to our own.

Why not?

I came up with an even longer list of replies.

Because I've never even been to Louisiana.
Because I like Waco.
Because, I don't know about you, but I'm only 22!
Because I've only been married for a year and a half.
Because someone else would be so much better at it.
Because I'm not gifted enough.
Because I don't know if I'm ready.

And because God is gracious, He met me in those questions.  You see, those weren't really answers to God's questions; they were more questions for him.

Am I strong enough?
Am I able to do what you've called me to do?
Do you really want me to be only Jesus some people in Baton Rouge might ever see?

And He answered (again!) with a question.

Will you trust me?

If I'm being honest, I wanted to say no.  When I have about 2.1 million reasons to say no and one reason to say yes, it is a battle for me to feel confident. But that one reason to say yes was the Creator of the universe inviting us into an adventure with Him. I'd say that's the trump card of all trump cards.  

Sometimes, when I feel vulnerable and like my shortcomings will be on display, I still feel like saying no.  But it's in those moments that I try to remember the invitation God is giving me.

He is asking me to come and be weak so that He can be strong.
He is asking me to have a morsel of faith so that He can move mountains.
He is asking me to lay down a seemingly insignificant life so that the most important Person in the world can be glorified.
He is asking me to rest in His arms and leave the heavy lifting to Him.
He is asking me to leave my questions behind and commune with the one who is the Answer.

How can I say no to that?

2 comments:

  1. Abigail, this is awesome! Incredible writer.

    ReplyDelete