Content Again.

Ever since last October, I felt like my world was turned upside down with all the changes that were occurring at my church. My youth pastor, Daryl Sutherland, wasn't going to be our youth pastor anymore, which I've had a really hard time with. I come from a home that's full of hugs and "I love you"s and that's what Daryl was like. I have so much to thank him for, he's helped me grow in so many ways and I thank God everyday for blessing me with a pastor like him.

When the announcement was made that he was leaving, he told us that he was still going to be the Missions Pastor at our church, so we would still see him pretty often. The adjustments of him not teaching us on Sunday nights was difficult, but I still got to see him pretty often, so it wasn't too hard.

After a while, Daryl got a job offer at a different church, and he took it. He and his simply wonderful family were leaving Southbrook. It killed me. His daughter, Kyndall and I had become WONDERFUL friends, his son Ky hugged me everytime he saw me, and his wife, Sherri was the sweetest lady on planet Earth...and they were all leaving.

After the Sutherlands left Southbrook, changes started happening...fast. Every Sunday, something in our youth building was different, there were new rules, a lot of my friends left, and in all honesty, I didn't feel the love that I used to feel every week bursting from the students and leaders like I used to. I've always been one to like change, but it had to be slow changes, and given time to adjust. There wasn't any time this time.

For the longest time I wanted to leave Southbrook. It wasn't my home anymore. I wasn't excited to come anymore. I didn't feel the love like I used to. My mom told me that once I got my car, that if I felt called, I could go to a different church if I wanted to. And I wanted to. I never told any of my friends, but I had made plans to start "church shopping."

This past Sunday we had a Worship Night like we do from time to time. I sang the words, but I didn't feel really feel it. Then, they sang David Crowder Band's "How He Loves Us", a song that always makes me cry. Then I felt God saying to me, "You don't feel the love here anymore? Yeah there's been changes, but my love has stayed the same. I'm your whole reason for you coming to this place every week. Why are you leaving?" I began to bawl. I had God's love, why did I need anything else? Yeah there's been changes, but that's life. I felt at home again at Southbrook for the first time in months.

When I was in Charleston, I attended Seacoast Church (man, I love that church, if I lived in Charleston, I'd go there all the time!) and the pastor talked about being content with what I have. My mom was with me so she brought that message up whenever I wasn't happy about what was going on at church. I've finally learned how to be content again.