Brenda and I have known for some time that a new wind is blowing through our lives. The children have left home. They are finding their way in life with the spouse and soon-to-be spouse that God has given them. We have been (and it seems so sudden) given the opportunity to focus on being a couple again. God has also given us some exciting new trails to blaze. But on any new trail there is a highway man waiting at every turn to rob us: fear.
It seems that during much of our almost 25 years of marriage we have pushed out in faith as God directed. I remember one time in 1990 I received a clear directive from the Lord to quit my job and move into a music ministry (I can feel you cringe about now!). I knew that it involved writing songs and sharing them in concert. Believe me, that directive didn't go over well considering that I had just finished college at 30 and had two, small children at home with Brenda giving them full-time care. I didn't know how God was going to "pull it off." We were trusting that somehow God would supply for us each day.
In 1985, five years previous, Integrity Music opened its doors in Mobile, Alabama, just a few miles from where we lived. In the summer of 1991 I was invited to share some of my songs with Integrity as a member of their creative staff went to the church that we were attending. Gary Sadler and I wrote a little ditty called Ancient of Days. They asked to put it on a new project they were producing. Integrity Music at that time was flying under the radar as far as Nashville was concerned. This little company was putting out worship music, not artist oriented songs that populated the airwaves at the time. Integrity Music and Mobile were insignificant. Brenda and I were invisible and certainly felt like every step forward might send us tumbling over a cliff! Regardless, we kept walking toward God's voice.
Twenty years later, we have seen God do everything He promised and much more. Now I sit here at my MacBook and feel the same trepidation as I hear God calling in a big way again. I have much more security now with everything that I have ever dreamed a professional music man might attain. It is time to tweak my God walk again. No excused. Yes, fear is screaming at me like a rogue basketball coach on the sidelines. I have an opportunity to do some exciting things in the Kingdom with my bride. Jesus calmly says, "come follow Me." I have the opportunity to allow God to intimately show me the steps to take in faith. For the past several years I have allowed Superman to be bound up in a straight jacket. I now pronounce God free to create new adventures in our lives. I have butterflies in my stomach but I am excited to see the results...I will keep you posted!
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