Sunday, May 10, 2009

A Couple Things . . .

I had a great (and unusual) Mother's Day which I'll tell you about tomorrow. For today, though, I just want to quickly cover a couple things.

THING NUMBER ONE (Sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, doesn't it?)

Steve and I would like to thank each of you have signed the guest book following my entry yesterday; your encouragement and prayers mean more than you'll ever know.

THING NUMBER TWO

Kathleen posted a question in the guest book; here's an excerpt:

"Do you ever wonder if you missed God's direction on leaving your old church? I ask because sometimes I struggle with making a decision and even after I have prayed I will doubt myself in that I heard God."

Great question, Kathleen. I don't think there's one person on the face of the planet who has never second guessed a decision because after all, decisions are so incredibly important and their consequences are so far reaching.

There have been a few decisions that Steve and I have second guessed in our twenty-seven years of marriage but in this case, we are quite certain that what we did was the best thing for the church and the best thing for us.

Does that make the transition any easier? Nope! It's still a tough chapter to be in.

THING NUMBER THREE
Lynie also posted an excellent question:

"Since you are not in the local church any longer, can you not see any of the members of the congregation? You mentioned not having the old friends...is Sarah still at the school there?"

In most pastoral transitions, a pastor resigns and moves on pretty immediately to his (or her) new assignment. Those situations tend to simplify the "friend" issue because the pastor is no longer in the same town as his former parishioners.

However, in our case, the fact that we are still in Smithfield six months following Steve's resignation makes things a bit more complicated. We made many wonderful friends during our 4 1/2 years at First Assembly; we loved the congregation dearly and the people in the congregation loved us.

But if we continue to hang on and to "hang out" in their lives, it will be a lot more difficult emotionally for them to move on to the future. And so, as hard as it is for us and as hard as it is for them, we are doing our best to keep a low profile.

Now of course, if we run into a former parishioner in the soup aisle at Wal -Mart, we obviously don't go sprinting toward the exit. (smile) We love seeing people who have been so dear to us over the years and it's fun to stand and chat for a few minutes. But we don't invite any church folks to our birthdays dinners or over for cook outs, etc., because, as I said, we're doing our best to make the transition easier for them.

Yes, Sarah still does go to the school that is based at First Assembly and she occasionally has friends from school over to play. Steve and I have a couple pastor friends in the area that we see from time to time. But as a rule, we're kind of our own little island for the moment! Thankfully, the four of us are ALL best friends with each other (and Snowy) so I can honestly say that we do have built in friends.

As you can probably imagine, though, we are all looking forward to our new church (wherever that turns out to be) so that we can begin, once again, to become a special part of special people's lives.

I probably answered those two simple questions with an overly complicated collection of words but you know me. When I get to writing, it's hard to put on the brakes.

Before I close, let me mention that Nathan has gone to Florida for a week to see his classmates before they leave for the summer. I was very happy when the phone rang this morning and I heard his baritone voice wishing me Happy Mother's Day. He even left a hand made Mother's Day card under my pillow before he left. What a fella!

6 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Anonymous said...

I'll continue to pray for all of you.....
(and most especially on the dates mentioned)
mrs pam

Ann said...

Warm thoughts and a very Happy Mother's Day. You and the whole family are in our thoughts during this transitional time. Hang in there Becky!
Ann O.

MaryH said...

Becky, I didn't even take time to read the most recent post. Went straight to the one previous - Transitions - Just know that I pray for the Smithes every day - usually in the morning, as I watch my daughter drive off to work at those barns full of horses (I pray for her safety, health and happiness) - and I look out past the huge trees by my kitchen window - up a few blocks, past the rooftops of other houses, and in the winter, I can barely see the shimmering lights of the top floors of the grade school on the corner - how I enjoy watching all the kids being walked to school with their parents and friends - In the spring and summer, I am greeted on these early mornings with birds dancing on the branches of that big tree and squirrels rushing to snatch up the pieces of bread I have thrown out for their breakfast. At this moment of every day, I pray - I pray for many intentions, requests, worries and people in my life - The Smithes have been in those prayers for many months now. I will continue this week with even more fervor - as I gaze out the window above my kitchen sink.

Unknown said...

Becky ~ I have been one of those silent readers for a long time now. I am a youth Pastor's wife in a church in PA. I am writing to ask you to please pray for a fellow Christian family. The Goodwin family - he is an evangelist (which you can relate to). They have 5 children, their three teenage girls still travel with them. Saturday afternoon while driving down the highway in KY, their rig caught fire. They lost everything. I remember you sharing your story of the wreck that you guys experienced years ago. I knew that you could understand their hardship. They even lost their car that was 'in tow'. You understand life on the road and already 'giving up' so many of the normal things we take for granted. To loose it all is just heartbreaking.
~Thanks! Tina

MaryH said...

As far as getting Nathan back in school, I would think there may be some kind of financial aide or deferrment for tuition because Steve is not employed at the moment (I say moment, because I believe God will reveal his plan shortly - you have weathered the "test" and come out strong) - anyway, it is worth checking out and if there is assistance, that would be one less immediatey worry. Praying by the window in the morning.

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