About two months ago, my husband and I decided that it was time for us to leave our church. This decision seemed to come out of the blue for some, but for us it was a gut feeling that had been present for awhile but never acted upon.
This was a very hard decision to make. We had been at our church for a little over ten years for me, and my husband for almost twelve. To be honest it was scary…for so long we had been used to being in one place with our family and now to do something different was life changing.
What would we do? Where would we go? What would people say?
These were just some of the questions swirling around my head…this was major! But we knew that leaving was what we were being lead to do and we wanted to do so in the most respectful way possible. This was the place my husband and I met and were married, our children were born into and the family that helped me deal with the deaths of both of my parents, but most importantly this was the place where my true relationship with God was cultivated…so leaving was anything but easy.
There was no anger, no offenses, no bad blood…just the tugging that it was time to do something else, be somewhere else, see something else. Not necessarily better, just different.
And we have. As a family we’ve visited a few churches and it has been great! Just to see people so passionate and free in their worship and relationship with a God has been beautiful…even a bit liberating. For so long, I had been in a box and have tried to abide by certain “rules” and had lost the feeling of what a true love experience with Christ felt like.
The liberation. The freedom. The very essence of His love…
So this time away has been good for me. I can’t say that I would never go back to my former church because honestly I don’t know what God will do and there’s no reason for us not too…if that is in God’s plan.
The church we’ve been going to for the past couple of weeks seems to be great…there were specifics we’ve prayed for and I’ve seen most of them there. We are not in a rush to become members, we want to make sure it’s the right fit for our family and I don’t ever want to make such an important decision just because we need a “home church” or out of fear that our family will be punished. The one thing that I am continuing to learn is that God’s grace is sufficient for me…no matter what church I belong too.
So, we made the change and now it’s time to…keep going, be positive and see the good, and God, in the journey no matter what!