I turned back one more time to see if we had left anything behind. My eyes scanned the desk to make sure the kids hadn’t set something down and left it…then it hit me. That desk. The one I have sat at every week, Sunday and Wednesday, for years greeting parents and kids as they walked in the door. The desk that I juggled my kids at between services. The desk that I heard kids rehearse the scriptures they had memorized. The desk that heard prayer requests, hurt from broken families, tales from long weeks, celebrated wins, championed kids, and so much more. The desk that was my door into the lives of so many families that walked through the doors of the church.

I took a deep breath and looked at it again. I glanced over the lobby and down the hall and tears filled my eyes. How could a season that lasted for almost six years end so quickly? One minute you are dancing with kids during worship, and two hours later you are walking out the doors into a new chapter of life and closing out a big piece of your story. A piece of your story you never thought would come to an end. A piece of your story that was a big part of your purpose, something you felt called to do. And that’s it, it’s over.

Just like everything in life, seasons eventually change. Only God knows exactly how long each chapter is going to be and only He knows the purpose of each page in our story. Sometimes we look longingly at a season thinking we have found the purpose of which we were meant to live out, but little do we know that it never ends there. Purpose goes far beyond what we can see with our eyes and into the big things that God has planned for us. It isn’t always easy to see the door close on certain seasons of our life. Sometimes we are left with more questions than anticipation, more fear than excitement. But in the middle of change we know that God’s plans are far greater than our own. Even during the unknown, we can have peace and confidence in what God has for us next.

God is writing an incredible story, and in His story, each one of us have a purpose. The purpose is far greater than we can grasp at one moment in our life. It’s a continual journey of constant discovery. The deeper we go with Jesus, the more levels we can experience. The more we press in, the more we uncover what God has placed within us. It’s up to us to say yes to the journey He has us on so that we can discover exactly what He has called us to do.

It’s up to us to press in and ask Him to take us deeper.

It’s up to us to say yes when we don’t know what lies ahead.

It’s up to us to move forward when things look different than we thought they would.

It’s up to us trust in God’s purpose above our understanding.

So I took a deep breath….in…and out….and I looked once more. I looked at the season that I was getting ready to leave and then I looked forward and took a step. Because only after I take that step and release my grip on one season can I experience what the purpose in the next season is.

That…and my toddler was running into the street. So, moving forward was the only option. 😉