It's ridiculous how quickly 2008 has flown by. It's almost epic in a way as I reflect on all that God has brought me through. I've experienced some of the most difficult times I have ever faced...only to come out loving and understanding our God to be faithful all the more. This year was undoubtedly a year for major growing and stretching. A year that has been undeniably, one of deep preparation for God's call on my life. Can I just say that on the one hand, I'm pumped that he would deem me worthy of his call to ministry yet on the other hand, sometimes I wonder what in the world God was thinking in calling me at all! REALLY?!! It has been a long and hard road getting to this point...there were legitimately times where I was metaphorically kicking and screaming, but in the end, through all I've been through, the Lord has left me vulnerable, open and submitted to him in full trust. He broke me! LOL!
I praise God that he's blessed me with great friends who are reading this and who have been by my side through the years. I love you guys so much. More than words can express I am grateful for your encouragement and your love for me. You've each played a significant role in my life so thank you. I'm just realizing that perhaps I'm neglecting the fact that many of you who are reading this don't even know me outside the context of FUSION or have only known me for a short time...for you, I also praise God! You've added a richness to my walk, my faith and my life. You are the community in which God called me into service to him, so...thank you for letting me serve you and thank you for making it such a deep joy for me.
As I think about the number of people I've met with for coffee this year, I'm overwhelmed by God's sovereignty and his providence in allowing for our life experiences to coincide or collide into amalgamations of wildly beautiful testimonies of God's love. He never leaves us to our own devices, if you seek him, he will meet you right where you are. Sometimes he does that through others. So as I think about the numerous conversations with people who were in pain, fighting temptation, grieved, heart broken, fighting for joy even though contrary to where they were in their faith, confused or at a crossroads moment in life, God was there. He was, is and always will be present for "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful" Hebrews 10:23.
Crossroads...For me that has come to mean one thing only as it pertains to the array of the decisions and choices we face as perceived from our Faith in Jesus Christ. Either we go by way of the road that Trusts and Obeys God or go by the way that Opposes Him. Those are your choices. Remember, if you choose to follow down the path after God, there are no guarantees that it won't at times feel as though you are meandering off the path, just remember "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" Proverbs 3:5&6. "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart" Psalms 119: 1&2. May this truth ring true for you...may it bring you comfort in times of uncertainty and may you always find rest in the one who never slumbers, who never grows weary.
Happy New Years Friends! I cannot wait to see what 2009 holds for each of us. May God richly and abundantly bless you and keep you now and forever!
With All My Heart,
MEL
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