‘Tis the Season

“Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.'” (Joshua 3:5)

Today marks the end of a season – this is my last article for Creekside. I’ve written many articles over the past six and a half years (about every 6 weeks or so), and it’s been fun. Some common themes are: going deep with God, listening to his call, worshiping God only, choosing life at each crossroads, trusting God, responding to his call, relying on God’s promises, doing justice, resting in God, journeying with God and being grateful, and, oh yeah, living out your calling. Actually, this new calling comes as no surprise if you read the articles I’ve written. I just didn’t know he was calling us to a new thing!

Doug and I went through a discernment process in August about whether or not God was calling us to leave Creekside and go full-time in ReWire, going away from being lead pastor and pastor’s wife to being Creekside-supported missionaries. The verse that kept coming back to me time and again as I was praying and listening was, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (Joshua 3:5) I took it not only for Doug and myself, but also for Creekside. God is going to do amazing things among us! We need to stay close to him, go deeper, and step out in faith, and we will see wonders, as the ESV puts it.

For the Israelites, Joshua’s charge to consecrate themselves meant purifying themselves to meet God – literally cleaning their clothes, and staying away from any impurity. Consecration means to make holy or dedicate to a higher purpose. For me, I felt a call to be immersed in God’s Word (doing the Bible Read-Through), to be on a journey of getting closer to God, of getting rid of things that come in the way.

In that journey, I decided to go back to counseling for more healing. If any of you feel a need to experience healing, I highly recommend Lifespan integration. The counselor takes you back to your past, perhaps where you’ve been hurt, and you show that version of yourself the rest of your (her) life, good and bad, and show her that Jesus loves her and has always been there for you (her). There’s more to it, but it’s awesome. I seriously have never felt so loved by God in all my life, as the fractures of my past come together in healing. I love that 9-year-old who suffered that experience, that 17-year-old who was bent on hurting herself and those around her, etc. And all this love and grace toward myself helps me to love more fully and have more grace toward others. If you need a recommendation for a good counselor, hit me up!

In my quest for consecration, I am not trying to be perfect or complete so God will love me more – I am completely loved just the way I am right here in my messiness. I am just following where I feel God is leading in this season, trying to give up my idols, and worshiping God only. Psalm 86:11 says: “Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” Unite my heart – we are fractured in many ways, whether we’ve suffered a trauma or not. When we choose sin (death) instead of goodness (life), when we go our own self-centered way instead of the God-centered way, it fractures us. But God has put the pieces back together through grace, through redemption, through our true identity in him as beloved children of God. It is said that the only constant is change – and that’s true in a sense; our circumstances are always changing as we go into new seasons of life. But the one constant is Jesus, who is the “same yesterday, today and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8) and it is a privilege to be part of his Kingdom. And he is the same One we celebrate this season of Advent.

I’m excited for the new season for the Humphreys – to see what God is going to do in us and through us as we seek to lead others to become missionaries to the poor and marginalized. (And we are staying in the area, so let’s do lunch.) We still have a few weeks at Creekside, but I wanted to say thank you. Your love, grace, generosity and friendship have been such a blessing and inspiration to our family. I am grateful to God for you and am excited for this church – praying for you and for the next leader who will take you on the next phase of your journey. The Lord “who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24) He does amazing things! Happy Advent!

Kelly can be reached via email.