It is time for us to step up and be the leaders....

It is Time To Step Up and Be Leaders

 

This has been a year of change for us.  A year of loss.  Not only of loosing weight, but  a year of loosing the great spiritual leaders that were a part of our lives.  My mom was the first.  My heart still hurts when I think about her being gone. So many time I reach for the phone and say..,"I've got to tell mom about that!" to reach back and realize...she is not there. We will also be loosing the house we grew up in.  This week we signed the papers for the sale of mom's house.  Although we know it is for the best, and we know that God picked the perfect family to move in there, we also know that as of July 22 we will no longer have a home to go home to.  It is bittersweet.  Another loss... The week after mom died Mr. D (our youth leader growing up) died.  He was the one that made our retreats fun...His singing, laughing and story telling were always special to me. 
This last week we lost another one of the Great Godly men from our life. Don Ensmenger has been a part of my life from as long as I could remember.  When I was a little girl he used to perform for us at church.  He always came over to our house for  lunch and he always shared with our family his desire to serve the Lord.  When I got to be a teen he used to perform at our summer camp. Everyone loved Mr. E. As Dave was interested in magic, Mr. E became his role model.  So much so that he wanted him to perform at our wedding.  As we moved from Albany back to WNY our friendship continued to grow.  Don was the perfect example of an evangelist.  Everywhere he went you felt like you were touched by God's presence. He lived his whole life with everything he had sharing the love of God with others he came in contact with. He was a a very special man.

As we stood beside his bed knowing that he was going to be with the Lord soon, we could just feels God's arms of protection around that man.  What an honor to be there when someone goes in the presence of the Lord. I think I have cried more over Don's death then any of the others.  I am not sure why.  Maybe because it reminded me of mom or maybe because I realized he was the last of the greats. I looked at Dave and said, "All of the prayer warriors are gone...who is going to pray...."  "All of the Great Godly influences in  my life are gone, who will I look up to.." As I stood by his bed in the last few minutes I thanked him for the wonderful Godly example he was in his life.  He was quiet and Solid, just like my dad.  In some ways, in the past 18 years he has taken the place of my dad.  He had wisdom that he would share and a heart of gold which he would reach out to anyone in need.  I told him Dave and I would not be the people we are today if it  was not for his Godly influence in our life.  His constant persistence of reaching others for the Lord.  I also told him it was time for Dave and I to step up to the plate and continue his journey.  We need to become the Godly leaders...We need to become the "Spiritually Strong"  We need to step up to the plate  and become the spiritual leaders that one day people will look up to.  It is kind of scary to realize that a whole generation is almost all gone.  We are now the older generation...We are the ones who need to pick up the Bible and start taking over where others left off.

Yesterday was also our Lifestyle change Bible study.  I was so looking forward to  it.  I needed my girls.  Needed to share all that I have gone through this week.  As I called the ladies the first one said she could not come, the second one said she could not come, one by one they were not able to make it. When Jeanette called and said she was not coming  I just started to sob.  I did not mean to, it just happened. I did not mean to make her feel bad, I just could not help it. As that Godly women prayed for me, I realized how lucky I am to have her in my life.  She prayed for peace. She also said God had something special planned for me.  As I got ready for my group I realized that I need to step up to the plate. I put a smile on my face and welcomed my guests.  Edith brought her sister in law.  What a character. She had just moved from Texas. She was so funny and we had such a good time.  I looked around my room and realized that God needed it to be just who we had there,  He knows best.  He is in control.  I was blessed by the people we had.  He is changing our group, refining it, and making us stretch.  I am so glad God is a better planner than I am.

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