Stepping into best...

Some months ago, I was spending some time with the Lord and instead of doing what i normally do when I spend time with the Lord, that would be talking, I was listening. Or a better way to state it, I was being still. As I was being still, I felt this impression that it was time to go back  towards home. My family currently lives in Denton, Texas and home is Atlanta, GA. That is about a 14 hour drive. Another side note to this story, I did not have a job in Atlanta, I am all about following the Lord, as long as it is convenient. That pains me to say, but it is as transparent as I can be. So i did what any sane follower of Jesus would do, I ignored the invitation back towards home. Don't worry I made a really strong case why I was right and why what the Lord had invited me to do didn't make any sense. So I kept walking in my direction. 

     Yet the invitation kept being presented to me. Then it kept being presented to me. Let me give you some free information, when Jesus invites you into something, it is best to accept the invitation. Also, you want what he is offering, trust me. So finally, I told Jesus, "if you want me to go towards home, then you have to make a way. Because currently, there is not a way as far as I can tell." Here comes more free info. don't challenge Jesus. He will always exceed the challenge, not always the way you think, but there has never been a challenge that He has been issued that was not overcome. You remember what death tried to do, He ended up dunking on death. I'll press on. A few weeks later I was doing a camp with a buddy of mine and he looked at me and asked, "So when are you going to come back home?" I am not sure if that was exactly what he said, but that is what I heard. I was a little taken back. A few days later I found myself having a conversation with the pastor of his church talking about an opportunity they had available and we both thought that it would be a good fit for me. I failed to mention that this opportunity was south of Atlanta, Atlanta is home.  So we decided that we would continue to talk and to see where this would lead. 

     When I arrived back to Dallas, my wife an I went on a date. I decided that this would be the time to let her know all that was going on in my heart. I told her about the tug back home, I told her about the opportunity that presented itself, and I admitted that I wanted to go back towards home. One of the main reasons I wanted to go home, outside of wanting to be obedient,  was to be closer to my parents and enjoy even more the relationship with my dad. (My dad and I haven't always been close. But due to the Lord leveraging some hard things, him and I are now buddies.) I began crying as I was talking to my wife and as I started to cry she began to cry. Ladies, when you begin to cry, the men in your life are unsure as to what needs to be done. I thought I broke her. Then I asked a very dangerous question, "Why are you crying?" She said, "Me too..." She was feeling the same things about going back towards home. So we decided that no matter what, we were going to head back home. Now all I had to do was to secure a job and tell my friend/lead pastor. 

     I called my pastor and told him I was going to come and see him and I was bringing him coffee. Things typically go better over coffee in my experience. So I went to his house and I told him everything. After I was done spilling my guts and getting over the sick feeling in my stomach, he looked at me and said, "Nick, that sounds right. I don't have any checks in my spirit." Yet another affirmation. I thought in that moment, "I guess we really are going back towards home." 

     The next few weeks were crazy. Things were progressing with the Atlanta opportunity. It was a great fit, but not the best fit. Then all of a sudden, things slowed down with that opportunity. Laura and I both thought that was a bit strange. But we kept walking and trusting. Then we had an end date for work in Dallas, we began to get a little nervous. Then, I felt prompted to send a text to a pastor in TN who had asked me to be his teaching pastor many months prior. I told him that I was looking to go back towards home and wanted to see if the opportunity he contacted me about was still available and he told me that it was still available for me. So we continued to walk and explore that opportunity. Both the Atlanta and the Tennessee opportunity continued to progress. Our prayer during that time was Jesus make it clear. As we continued to walk, that's exactly what he did. We finally realized that He made a way and opened the best door, that door was TN. This journey reminds me of a story about Jesus and one of his disciples on the sea and in a boat. Jesus was on the water, skiing like a boss. Then Peter looks at Jesus and says, "If that is really you, call me out of the boat." If you are familiar with this story, you know what happened next. Jesus calls Peter out of the boat. Peter begins to walk on the water and then realizes that walking on water can't be done and is crazy. So he begins to sink and Jesus, doesn't get mad at him, but extends his hand to raise Peter up. I can relate to this story more so than I ever have. If you think about it, you probably can as well. See in this story, the boat is a great choice. It's safe, it's sturdy, and Peter knew boats well, he was familiar with boats. To step out of the boat, required trust and risk. But is was the best choice. You might not be convinced of this, let me explain. Out of the boat is where Jesus was, wherever Jesus is, that's best! So for me and my family, we want best, we want to go where Jesus is calling us and in this season, it happens to be TN. TN is where we have been called to walk on water. So we are walking. This season has not been an easy one, it has been stretching. Stretching is necessary. We have to be stretched so we can be best prepared for the next task at hand. My prayer for us, meaning my family, is that we wont cling to great things like the boat, but we will be willing to step upon the waters and walk towards what is best. Jesus is always best.