joel's post
so joel asked in his post how do we know if we are in God's will? people say that God will confirm his will to us. but how do we know that he is doing that? how do we know that we are not just seeing what God wants us to.i am of course thinking of this in reference to my family all moving. my family is the one support system and the one group in my life that i have never questioned. i have never wondered if one my sisters or my brother did not love me or want me around. i have belonged and always felt the loved. so, why would God take that from me? I do have Joel and i dont doubt his love but my sisters have always been some of my best friends. my family more than anyone has held me accountable to being a good person and Christian and that will be gone. it is not fair.
all that said i am not going to pretend that i think God wants us to move out there (not that he does not either). if or when we move out there it will be because i want to be near my family. i dont feel particularly called to here either, joel does not either. we just really felt that we needed to leave kankakee. it was a bad place for us. this is just the only opportunity that opened itself to us. here we have the chance of new friends and finding a church that we can connect with. we would have that in maryland or pennsylvania too. perhaps God is calling me to somewhere or something but i dont know where or what. it seems like all i ever hear is what he does not want me to do, more than what he does.
i am rambling though. i just have so many questions and i am so lost and angry about all of this that i ...
posted by totogirl @ 12:08 AM
5 Comments:
Rachel-the love and support of your family is NOT gone, and you do know that. They will always be there for you, no matter where they live. They love you very much and you love them. Your relationship will probably turn to a lot of phone time, but it is in no way diminished by distance. They are not going to move out there and all of a sudden forget you are their wonderful sister and daughter who they love. Maybe you are feeling a little left out? Like they will be a family out there, and you will become a visitor? That does not happen. We are all here for you, and your family will ALWAYS be your family. Love and hugs to you and joel!
Wife. you can see what I said to joel. I know you are hurting. I know how close your family is, and this is probably the scariest thing that has ever happened to you. We'll talk wednesday. What time do you want us there? I get out of work at noon and scottie doesnt work. let me know.
Hey chica,
If all you're doing is not doing what you know God doesn't want you to do, then it might follow that, for now, you are doing exactly what God does want you to do.
Maybe sometimes God gives us a choice :) Just a thought. Check out 2 Chronicles 32:31. It's a pretty powerful verse.
Rachel, when the decision came two years ago for me to move out here or Ryan to move to Bourbonnais, I have to confess, it was more logistics that helped us make the decision than 'God's will.' Ryan owned a house and had a great paying job out here that he couldn't do in K3. I rented an apartment, had a not-great paying job at Olivet, but I was close in locale to family and friends and a great church. In the end, although we spent much time in prayer, it was a list of pros and cons that helped us make the decision. Now, perhaps God was guiding us through that list ... I dunno.
I'm not discrediting the idea of God's will by any means. I tend to think more along the lines of a sermon I heard from Troy Martin (a past Olivet prof and author) once: God has three distinct areas of will for our lives. There is the 'we have no control over this' will, such as whether we are born male or female, what parents we are born to, etc. Scripturally, Adam and Eve had no choice in the fact that they were placed in the garden. It's not like God said, "Well, I have this nice Garden of Paradise, or you could pick the two bedroom apartment down the street...it's up to you." Second, there is the 'absolutely not' will - we are commanded to never murder, steal, commit adultery, take the Lord's name in vain, etc. Again, for Adam and Eve, they were commanded to never eat from the Tree of Knowledge (we know how that story ends!). Third, everything else falls into the 'it's up to you' area. God loves us and wants an intimitate role in our lives, but some decisions are up to us...decisions that we can do our best to educate ourselves, seek wise counsel, and finally just make the decision. Such as, buying a car, choosing a major in school, deciding what job to take, deciding where to live...these are areas that are not specifically addressed in scripture but that we know we are going to be held responsible for our decisions. (Wouldn't it be great if there was a 67th book in the Bible titled, "Answers to All the Other Questions You Have" or something like that?) :)
I'm rambling and am going to be late for work. Does this make sense? Perhaps this would have been better in an e-mail than a post.
Concerning family, I know it is hard for you to be away from them, especially after being so close in location and having that suddenly change. I encourage you and challenge you to wait before you move. Yes, you will forever be your parents' daughter and your siblings' sister, but right now you are also a wife, and that relationship has an opportunity to strengthen right now. It's the whole 'leave your family and cleave to your mate' idea. Think about waiting a season before you move - at least six months if not a year. Take advantage of visiting often but continue to build your household unique from your family. (Of course, I didn't and don't have the great family relationship that you have, so it was both easier and harder for me to move - we needed to get away for the sake of our marital health, but I struggle with guilt of not helping share the burden of my mother with my sisters.) I feel bad because I have been teasing you about moving out here when really it's not an easy decision for you. I'm sorry that I teased; do you forgive me?
If it's okay with you, I'll ask Ryan to pray for you, too. He's a good pray-er. :)
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