Interactions with God #61

The trick to the new job at Sentry Insurance was that we had to move.  I could sell insurance anywhere, but the company had a rule that you needed to live in the region of the office that you worked out of.  My office was in Woburn, MA.  The NH border was the northern limit of the office.  So Martha and I moved to Lowell, MA, just south of Nashua, NH.

We were still going to the same church in Nashua.  It wasn’t that far away and most of our friends were there.  We were not involved in any ministry and our popularity at the church was at an all-time low.  There were of course some hurt feelings in the mix too.  No one stood up for us.  No one really asked what happened or why.  No one really wanted to know, and our telling anyone would not have served any good purpose.  Even so, as always, we attended faithfully each Sunday and weekday service. 

By the summer of 1993, Brianne was no longer just cruising furniture, but full on walking/running.  Now, during the Sunday service, I would often keep her with me and let her walk in the lobby at the back of the main auditorium.  On one particular Sunday, she was running back and forth squealing pleasantly.  While watching her, I also listened as the pastor delivered his message on how it was the job of church leadership to equip the saints.  He went on and on about how they are to help the younger believers grow and encourage them into service.  These words were true. Sadly though, I thought to myself, that this very pastor did the opposite with me.  He did everything he could to discourage me, to hold me back.  It was his underlings, the elders and deacons who had been my supporters all this time.  Though they had done exactly what he was teaching, there was no way that I would grow anymore at this church, because of his control.  That was when God spoke to me.

“It is time for you to leave”

That was our last Sunday at that church.