Seasons Of Change

Proverbs 3:6 “Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

For a while I have struggled with the desire to find a different church. It is difficult at best to come to that conclusion. You wonder if it is you, is it the church, the pastor, the people? You second guess yourself, you ask God for His opinion, you ask your friends what they think. You struggle with the reasons why you feel the need for change. Are you hearing correctly? Changing churches is not a step to be taken lightly.

What I came to realize was that it was not what I was getting that made me restless. It was what I was not getting. I am a place in my life where I need more study of His Word. I am done with the feel good, life is wonderful type of message. My life is good. I am happy with my Christianity. I know that God loves me. What I want to understand is more about the Bible. I want to delve deeper into scripture. Taking it one chapter at a time, learning more about the totality of the writings and how it applies to my life. I wanted more than just an hour of someone's thoughts on how I can use one feel good scripture to be a better Christian.

In the big picture, each church I visited was the same in its overall message. Love the Lord, give unto others, pray always, repentance and renewal. Yet, even as I realized how much they were the same, I began to see the subtle differences. Sure I came away feeling good about God’s love. Sure I was greeted by smiling faces and joyful greeters. But where was the depth of Bible study? Where was the tweaking of my consciousness as entire scripture was read, not just the feel good part? Where was the opportunity to meet regularly with other believers to go deeper into His Word, to pray for others needs, to surround myself with people in my community?

I remember when I was growing up that church was a part of everyday life. We went to church on Sunday morning, again on Sunday night, and then again on Wednesday evening. There were church suppers, prayer meetings, mom’s day outs, women’s Bible study. Summer Bible school was less about entertainment and more about learning about Jesus. My mom knew that one phone call would get her all the help she needed for births, deaths, sickness, etc. The pastor knew his flock and they knew him. He shook their hands on the way out of church every single Sunday.

In the end I found what I was looking for. Or a better statement would be that God led me to where He wanted me to be. I placed it all in His Hands and asked Him to lead me to the church that was right for me during this season in my life. I have nothing against the church where I first met God. It is a good church full of Godly people. But for me, right now, in this season, it just was not feeding my desire to learn more about His Word. And so I step out in faith on this new journey at Church Project

Dearest Father God, I am humbled by Your Hand in my life. I know that when I place everything in Your Hands, You will show me the next step. Thank You for giving me the Holy Spirit to guide and direct me with whispers from You. I pray for increased learning of Your Word. There are so many people who are searching for You Father. Let me seek them out, let me cross their paths, let me show them all about how marvelous and wonderful You are. Let me be in Your Service every moment of my day. Thank You =for all that You have blessed me with. In the Name of Christ Jesus, Amen

©Michelle Welch, team member of Breath Of Life Women's Ministries

photography by Michelle Welch, all rights reserved

scripture from KJV Bible