A few years ago (at least it seems like just a few years), The Hollies sang a song which began, “The road is long, with many a winding turn.” That pretty much sums up my journey, and the road is winding a bit more now. The bends have become sharper and the road ahead is a little harder to see. Things have changed in our lives the last couple of weeks.
The school where Jan and I taught (me for ten years, and Jan for fourteen) has closed. The enrollment had dwindled to the point where the school could no longer afford to operate. It’s sad to see a place you’ve poured your life into, a place your children graduated from, close its doors. It’s also sad to watch as people try to lay blame. As in many Christian organizations, unfortunately, there are a number of people who have been hurt. I don’t want to get caught up in the blame game, because it does the Kingdom no good at all. Regardless of the reasons, the fact remains that those who worked at the school, including Jan, are now looking for work. So, that’s one bend in the road.
The other thing that has happened is that we have left the congregation we have been a part of for the last fourteen years. Over the past months, we have come to the realization that God is leading us in a different direction than the one in which that group is going. What that is going to mean for the future, we don’t know. We do know that the Father is leading us, so there is not a concern in that area. We have been part of a house church that meets on Sunday nights for about half a year, and a friend and I are seriously thinking about beginning a fellowship on Sunday mornings. We’ll see where God leads.
So, the road sometimes seems long, and there are many winding turns. But, as another line in the song says, “We’ll get there.”