A Place for You

When the church asked me to start a congregation
near Rising Sun, Maryland, I drove over early
to see where we may be called to serve.

How could I lead something that didn't exist?
How could I move to a place I didn't know?
How could I gather people I hadn't met?

Arriving before dawn, I parked at a subdivision entrance
just as the sun started to rise over a golden field next door.

Later I learned that Rising Sun got its name from farmers
who met at sunrise to take their crops to Port Deposit.
Before cell phones, they just met at sunrise to travel
together for safety and joy.

This was the most angelic white light I'd ever seen.
It filled the field in a wash of brilliant brightness I'll not forget.

I turned and saw the subdivision was Bryan's Grace.
I thought, 'God's grace indeed! Maybe this is my place.'

(Later, I told this to a local man who seemed to tear up a bit.
He said it was built on his family's farm that he sold when his
father, Bryan, and mother, Grace, died a few years ago : )

Then I looked right and was in front of a house for sale.
But even as a pre-foreclosure, we couldn't afford it.
When my family came to meet with the Bishop,
we visited this special house again.

We talked with several realtors but no home worked out.
So we looked to rent. But even rental prices here are so high!
Everyone says, 'Prices have come down." But I say, "Not enough!"

Then through a series of events, we found a place to rent.
It was the day of a big storm, and I was looking for a place
for the new congregation to meet, in the old 'Miracle Theatre.'

Turns out, it was the wrong space but the right place.
I met several new friends. During the storm the power went out,
and they invited me in from the lightening and hail.
After a couple hours with the two couples, I felt I'd meet
the kind of people with whom and for whom
we could build a new church family here.

Then as I was leaving, they suggested I call their landlord.

The home I first visited at sunrise was a ridiculous long-shot.
Besides, who needs a mushroom house? (Then I heard it was sold.)

But this landlord did have a rental we could (barely) afford.
So I put in an application for the rental, but due to the storm,
the realtor could not show me the house right then.

Maybe God sends wind, lightening and rain to re-arrange our plans!
Instead, as I was leaving, the realtor's adult child called to say
she was going to an ER miles away. I offered to drive.

Again, right place for a completely unexpected reason.
I had a chance to talk to my new landlord and make a friend : )

On the way to the ER, we passed an obscure little church.
Someone told me about it the night before.
It was a very unusual ministry, and I was intrigued.
So on the way back, I stopped and was blessed by the
example of faith of these pastors and a volunteer.

Again, new friends! I think they all will be important to the
work God is planning to do in this place.

The rest of the day went that way, divine random encounters,
one after another, until I arrived back at the home of a
local Lutheran family who let me stay in their in-law apartment.

Nat and the kids move out in July 1, but I didn't feel at all anxious.
There was definitely a sense of peace.

Then, before going to bed, Natalie called to say that the
rising sun home we'd visited was for rent.

The home that was sold and that we felt was beyond our reach,
was posted on craigslist for less than the rental I just applied for.

Was it too good to be true? We email and prayed.
We trust that God is leading us... but to where we don't know.

One thing we do know... the Holy Spirit has a place for us.
It's not always where, and certainly not why, we think.

But one thing I know for certain...
whether in beautiful, peaceful sunrises or life's fiercest storms,
Jesus is busy behind the curtains...

preparing a place for you and me!