When God goes before us

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When God goes before us

April 4, 2024

by Shelagh Raymer

It’s very different for me this spring. At times I feel ‘left out’ and in other moments I am grateful to have it this way.

Over a year ago I was presented with an organizational structure chart that took my role as the Program Director: Family Ministries at MBC and divided it into two (Kids and Youth Ministry and MBC Retreats Ministry). Full disclosure … I cried! I cried because everything I had been wrestling with previously and trying to articulate was right there on this piece of paper in living colour. It was my decision to choose which of the two roles I wanted to keep and which role I would release.

I decided that Kids and Youth ministry would be the part I would release. Sometimes I wondered if I had made the wrong decision. I have loved so dearly leading and mentoring the young people who arrived every spring and summer. This was the part I knew I would feel ‘left out’ of. All the hiring for Immerse this summer has gone on without me and I do feel left out.

What I didn’t expect was the space that would be created in my life and my mind because I had released this part. I remember sitting in a planning meeting thinking “WOW, I actually have room for creativity” and I watched the excitement of planning and organizing MBC retreats grow. This had always been a part of my job but now I was grateful to have more space and time for it.

God always prepares you for that next step, even if you don’t think you are ready. I had talked and prayed to Him about what it would look like if I was to no longer be a part of Kids and Youth Ministry. Isn’t it just like Him to already have the wheels in motion? That org chart changed my life, God knew I would be ready at that moment, to receive this as confirmation that He had mapped it all out.

I am still here at MBC and will still be on site this summer. I am excited that I will still see all the people and be able to serve you in a different capacity. I also look forward to seeing who was hired for Immerse and reconnecting with the youth who will be returning.

God knew well before me that my life would be different this summer in another way… I will be a grandmother! ‘Gma’ and the new space created will be filled with a new purpose and sense of mentoring. Isn’t He amazing?!