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| Pastor Randy sharing the Gospel during a Saturday Nite Jam event at Living Stones Ministries. (2010) |
In the dream I was sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ to those in the crowd.
Prior to this I had been seeking the Lord and asking Him what His will for me was. Within the next few months I had received numerous confirmations ranging from other dreams, to trusted brothers in Christ (who knew nothing about the dream) telling me what God laid on their heart concerning me, and other things that seemed to be more than just coincidental.
Most of all, there was an increasing desire in my heart to be with the community of Grundy. I knew at this time that I needed to speak with our pastor. In doing so, he explained to me that one of the greatest miracles a believer could ever experience was seeing the timing of God unfolding in their life. He went on to say that when the time was right to move I would know it. Long story short, all of the tumblers fell into place in June 2003, and we moved to Grundy. The move was and still is bittersweet due to our daughter and son-in-law still living in North Carolina.
We found a place to rent in Grundy, soon after I found a job, and we lived our lives as Virginians. Once settled in we started hosting Bible Studies in our Living Room. For a few years we had no building and we were out and about in the community. We eventually settled into a storefront and hosted a Youth Ministry called Living Stones Ministries. This became a haven for young people in the community and many got to hear the message of the gospel. Many lives were touched and some became born again. In addition, lives were also enriched from the weekly Bible Studies. LSM was operational from 2003 to 2010, lasting 7 years. Due to a lack of funding Living Stones had to close in December of 2010.
Since this time I've had people express grief to me, as if we had lost a child. In some ways it does feel like this I suppose. Personally in my own journey as a Christian I've noticed that many times God takes us through various seasons in our life. During the 7 year span that was LSM, I made a lot of compromises. My family had to sacrifice a lot, and although some people would be bitter about it, they have not been. My wife Ann has put herself on the back burner many times for the sake of the ministry. My children have too. I believe sometimes I handled things right, and sometimes I handled things wrong as a husband, a dad, and as a pastor. The season that was Living Stones has ended. As it was coming to an end I thought I'd be devastated, but it was weird. I thought I'd feel like a failure. I thought I'd feel like I let God down and like He wouldn't approve of me. I instead felt love and a sense approval from Him. I felt like and still do feel as if God brought us as a family through a difficult season called ministry. Now it is a time for family, for reflection, for healing, and spiritual growth. In time God will show us the next thing He wants us to do, and when He does we will be obedient just as we were before. The only difference is we will be a bit wiser maybe. God is good. He has brought us this far and He isn't finished with us yet. Praise the Lord!
