On The Move Again!
When I got news that we needed to be out of the Yacht Club effective immediately, my first thought was, believe it or not, Exodus. I wonder how the people wandering the desert felt when they were on the move for forty years following a cloud.
We need both this news update about Kitsap House and the lesson from Exodus, so please keep reading.
Perhaps you can recall the story of Exodus whether you’re from the Charlton Heston or the “Prince of Egypt” eras. God called Moses to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt and to the Promised Land. But a journey that could have only taken days took forty years for one reason: God wanted them to learn to trust him while they were in the wilderness so that they’d trust him when they got to the promised land.
Most of the ways they learned to trust were incredibly simple, like learning that God will provide for you by only having enough food for one day at a time.
Another way they learned to trust God was by being directed just one stop at a time. Today I’ve been reflecting on the trust that grew in the leaders, trust in God’s provision, that was established over 40 years in the wilderness as God gave them just one location at a time. They even only had a days’ notice that it was time to leave!
As a daughter of a pilot, this does not come easily to me. One of the first uses the computer had in our house was providing a down-to-the-minute road trip ETA. We had 4 minute gas stops which did not include restroom breaks and 11 minute stops that did. We knew exactly where we were going, exactly when we were stopping, and exactly what time we would arrive.
Let’s be thankful there were no pilots in Moses’ traveling crew because God definitely doesn’t work like that. Exodus gives us a picture of what it was like:
In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels. Exodus 40:36-38
Simple following is the rule of the day with God. Not because he’s malicious or hiding anything from us or demanding but because he loves us enough to teach us to trust him through simple following, one stop at a time.
So now Kitsap House continues in her learning to trust God through simple following. We will be meeting somewhere new beginning October 9th.
We are not that surprised. The Yacht Club have been incredibly gracious hosts. We had a contract to meet there through Easter. They’ve let us continue on because we haven’t been able to find a suitable place. But their members struggle to find parking while we meet on a prime sailing day. So on Tuesday, September 27th they voted that we could no longer meet there, effective immediately.
God is definitely not surprised. He already knows where we’ll go next. Just as he’s known the last eight places we’ve gathered for worship over the past four years. With every step he’s made significant friendships for us as we’ve found and been hosted by the community of Port Orchard. He’s shaped who we are with each step – in the community with South Kitsap High School; as a family in a home at 703; in love for our downtown neighbors at Coffee Oasis; in our love of sharing worship with our kids at the Yacht Club. So we’re simply following and staying curious about what this next season will hold.
So it’s very important that you stay connected! We’ll be emailing and changing the website as soon as we know where we are next.
We were already planning this Sunday to serve our neighbors by coming alongside the Parks & Rec team of Port Orchard, cleaning up McCormick Village Park at their request. We’ll meet you at the park at 10am Sunday, October 2nd.
Stay tuned for the next Sunday, October 9th. Be excited with me as I anticipate the growth in trust in God, the new relationships, and the cultural shaping that God has in store for us in this next stop!
Pastor Megan
