Last night at the Stirring...

Last night was my final night to attend the Stirring as a "regular". I hope to visit in the future, as we will be coming back to the area occasionally, but it was my last night as a part of that community. Let me just say, "wow"! God knew what we needed and met us in a way that I have not experienced in a long time.
Nate and Dan did a bit of a tag team approach to the teaching last night. Nate began the night "dancing" around in his usual excited way and conveying a deep passion for the message that God had laid on his heart. He shared about Jesus walking with the men on the Road to Emmaus after his death and resurrection. I will not try to recreate the message here, but highly recommend listening to it for those who did not hear it last night. To continue with the tag team analogy, Nate presented the message, had everyone attentively listening, and then tagged Dan to come in and finish us off with a delayed vertical suplex (hope you liked the British Bulldogs reference Dan). Seriously though, Dan shared a bit of his and Alyssa's story and touched us all with his honesty, openness, and the story of God's often confusing ways. While it may not have been the delayed vertical suplex, the story of God's faithfulness and guidance in their lives had a similar effect by bringing many to tears, myself included.
The message last night spoke to us powerfully because we relate to is so closely right now. We moved back from the Philippines a little over a year ago with a plan. We spent several months living in Seattle and seeing door after door slammed in our faces. After these months of discouragement, we moved back to Redding with plans of following God and living out our dreams in this area that we love so much. We connected with a great group of people doing their best to follow Jesus (the Stirring), we enjoyed the area for all the beauty and nature it offers, and yet every opportunity we pursued to use our gifts, experiences, and education seemed to come to a dead end. For whatever reason, things did not turn out how we had planned or hoped. At my point of greatest discouragement, God opened a door. It was not a door we were looking for, one we expected, or one we would have thought of by ourselves, but it has clearly been God's handiwork. He has opened an opportunity for me to teach in a public community college, specifically in a program designed for people who often need a second chance to help them get on their feet and take care of their families. It is a chance to use the gifts and passions that God has placed within my heart, yet it requires us to move to Spokane, Washington.
Last night was a good reminder for me that God truly is aware of our desires and the talents he has given us, but often we have to surrender our own idea of how we want to use these things. If we had our choice, we would have had a similar opportunity open up in Redding, but God has different plans for us. While it is hard to say goodbye, and hard to let go of our hopes and ideas of how things would turn out, we are excited to see how God chooses to fulfill these dreams and hopes within our lives.
This will be the third time in the past 14 months that we have transported our lives between Washington and California in a moving van. I don't recommend that to anyone. yet, in the midst of it, God is beginning to give us new hope and new confidence in his plan for our lives. We may not know the specifics of that plan, but we are reminded that he does have a plan, and that even though his plan may often differ from our own, his plans are best. I guess now we just have to wait and see where the road leads...