Follow where the Holy Spirit leads you

Verses: John 16 : 5 - 15

My thoughts about the verses:

We know now that Jesus was talking about his own death.  We also know that Jesus would come back from the grave and walk among the disciples.  Then in the right moment the Holy Spirit would fill those that believed with the endless love of the Helper.  Yet, the disciples really did not understand this.

They were told Jesus was going away and if you listen closely they do not ask where you are going. I really believe they were all in denial.  I believe this is because who would ever want to acknowledge that your teacher was going to leave you.  Even harder for this group was to accept that someone different was coming to help them.  You can understand why they were so sad. If you were in their shoes could you truly accept that Jesus was going away.  I know I would have tears forming in my eyes if I was there in that moment.

Have you ever had a teacher or mentor move on?  A person you trusted and had shared a lot with.  Then one day they are no longer in that role.  I have had this happen to me several times and I will tell you it is hard to accept in the beginning.

The first time this happened is when Rev. Mel was leaving Faith MCC.  She had led me and been a strong mentor in my life.  She had encouraged me to walk down the path that I am on now.  She trusted me and was not only a mentor but my friend.  The day that she told me she was resigning my heart skipped beats.  Tears ran down my eyes.  For one moment I thought what am I going to do now.  She encouraged me to follow my passion.

Following my passion the last service of Faith MCC I drove 80 miles to my new church home.  I remember that moment so much, just like it was yesterday.  In fact, this happened to me the first Sunday of Pentecost in 2001.  I made the leap of faith and handed Rev. Dee my letter from Faith and joined MCC Louisville.  I can remember the Sunday that I was introduced to the congregation.  It was wonderful.

I grew and had a new mentor a helper that would guide me further down my spiritual path.  What is amazing is that I never thought I could have a mentor that made as much impact as Mel. Yet, I gained two.  Dee and Judy did the same thing they became my new helpers in life.  They trusted me. Dee and Judy both  guided me and became my friends.  When I went into the Diaconate I knew this was exactly what I needed to do.  That day was wonderful and I can remember every moment of the service as we were presented to the Church as new Deacons.

I thought I can go on like this forever.  I have found my niche.  I have the best mentors and I am getting stronger spiritually.  Then it happened Rev. Dee retired.  Now at first I thought I am not going through this again.  I already had to transition to one pastor and it was so hard to trust someone.  I didn't share that with people because I knew people were looking at me in a leadership role.  Yet, my heart was breaking and I was afraid of the unknown.  Could I do this one more time. A Deacon plays a special role in the church and has a close relationship with the pastor.  Was I ready to give it one more go around?

I spent two years questioning this.  People who knew me the closest had no clue how hard a struggle I was going through.  I wanted to just break away and hide.  During this time I had two people that helped me deal with the changes. Rev. Bob and Rev. Barry encouraged me through these times.  As I was dealing with my changes they kept on encouraging me.  My voice still was important and they didn't let me loose the faith that had been building over all those years. They not only helped me but they helped so many others.  I was still questioning what my role would be at the end of the whole process.

Then they announced the pastoral candidate.  The weeks that followed we learned more and more about the person that was coming for us to meet.  It was something that I read that made my heart get motivated again.  I realized that there can be many helpers that come in your life.  As long as there are sent from God. What sealed it for me was when the church voted 100 % to bring Rev. Colleen.  I knew that this was who God wanted as the head.  I realized that I was gaining yet another mentor in my journey. So as Rev. Colleen comes into my journey  I feel like the disciples anxious and excited at the same time.  Yet, I know that God is in the center.

My theory God sends who we need in our life to help us grow.  They are not replaced by others. Instead the people that come are there to lead us further in our journey.  We have to remember that we are doing the same for others.  We must live by faith and show that truth in all things.  As people come in and out of our life may there be two things that we know.  Number one we remember what all they have done to help us grow.  Secondly, we should pray that we have been something special in their life.

I do want to dedicate this to all of the spiritual leaders from my childhood through today that taught me to love Jesus.  In their own way they taught me to do what God was leading me to do.  They all played parts from Sunday school teachers that taught me simple songs and how to love God.  I learned from Pastor's to accept Jesus in my heart.  I came to the understanding that once Jesus was in my life he would always be there.  To the teachers that taught me how to study the Bible and to learn what God wanted me to do.  To Mel, Dee and Judy that taught me that I could have a voice from the pulpit and fully be who I was meant to be.  To Rev. Bob and  Rev. Barry that kept me going when things were rough.  Finally to all of the future leaders that are coming into my life like Rev. Colleen.

I hope if you are reading this right now you take a moment and thank all those that God has sent your way to grow you spiritually.  I also ask that you look at those people that are around you right now and make sure that you are not a stumbling block for their growth.  The question is you allowing them to help you go further down your Spiritual life?

Prayer:

Dear God thanks you for sending the greatest helper into our midst.  Thank you for sending others into our life that have accepted Jesus and are willing to share their gifts with others.  Help us be there for others as they grow closer to you.  May we truly come to understand that you are the center of all of our existence.  Help us remember to always follow you and to allow you to place us on the path that you need us on.  Help us as people go in and out of our life remember that you never leave us.  In your Holy Name we Pray.  Amen.

Questions:

Who are the people that God has placed in your life to help you along your life journey?  Have you thanked them for what they have done?  Do you follow the ultimate Helper?  Are you being a mentor for others?  What do you need to do right this moment to allow others to grow?