So after much prayer, my husband and I came to the difficult decision of stepping down from ministry. Don't get me wrong, we are not leaving "ministry" entirely, but we are stepping down from the positions we hold at this moment. We both know in our hearts that we are called to serve and are confident that God will call us back in the game in His timing, but for now He is sitting us on the bench. We have had an extremely difficult year, those closest to us, know every excruciating detail. But we kept hammering away at the ministry and getting frustrated because it didn't seem right. Finally, like I said before, after much discussion with the Father, He laid it upon our hearts that it was time to step down. He kept bringing two words to up, "rest" and "healing". To be honest with you, Justin and I have not really taken the time for us, or our kids, to rest or find healing from this past year. What made this decision so difficult was not the fact that we had worked so hard at it, but the fact that we felt like we would be letting our students and our church down. But what God did was give us peace through our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our pastor was completely understanding and supportive and so were our students. Other ministry leaders were the same, God gave me peace that this was His will through the actions of His children. Our biggest fear was hurting our church, the bride of Christ. It is not something that I ever want to happen or anything I ever want to answer for.
I can not express how thankful we are to our church and our church family. They took us in as their very own, loved us, uplifted us, prayed over us, and guided us. Justin and I grew in ways we never thought we could. God used our church to prepare our hearts for the trials we have faced and to be leaders. But as our pastor said, "even leaders need rest". I know that God will use the traits He has instilled in us through our church to use us in the future. But for now, all we are doing is resting on the bench and waiting for God to call us out again.
I can not express how thankful we are to our church and our church family. They took us in as their very own, loved us, uplifted us, prayed over us, and guided us. Justin and I grew in ways we never thought we could. God used our church to prepare our hearts for the trials we have faced and to be leaders. But as our pastor said, "even leaders need rest". I know that God will use the traits He has instilled in us through our church to use us in the future. But for now, all we are doing is resting on the bench and waiting for God to call us out again.
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are
weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
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