Letter from the Editor.

My tears are gracing the keyboard as I write these words.

I can’t stop them from falling.

This six-year-chapter of ARISE is complete and I haven’t stopped grieving.

I’ve been the woman behind the curtain. The mystery face behind the keyboard. And as I type these words, I feel like I am pulling back the curtain of my heart and revealing the innermost parts with you. My current struggles. My intimate chats with God.

This feels very familiar. I’ve been here before. Fighting against change. Grasping for air at the little bit of the known I can still see. Holding onto hope and kicking and screaming against the ending of a season.

Change enacts the grieving process. Grief. It’s real. It’s painful. And it doesn’t just fade away. And to move forward, you must move through it, a process known as mourning. You can’t sweep it under the rug and expect it to vanish. It must be experienced- body, mind, soul, and spirit.

But scripture reminds us of a simple truth. The process and necessity of seasons.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

There is a season for everything- even to say goodbye. Even if God prepares your heart to leave, the departure isn’t easy because it means you are closing a chapter on something beautiful, cherished, beloved. But what if by staying too long, we are holding onto dead things from an old harvest?

What keeps us paralyzed, holding onto dead things that won’t reflourish? Fear of the unknown- ultimately rooted in a lack of trust in the God who can, has, and ultimately will!

This is what the Lord says- He who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, and the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen.”

Isaiah 43:16-20

He has always made a way. Carved a path through raging seas. Provided water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland- but He asks us not to dwell on the past- why? Because He is up to something brand new!

And if we cling so tightly to the old- our hands won’t be open to receive the beauty and abundance on the horizon. Out of death comes new life. Sometimes something old must die for something else to be born.

Six years ago. I walked away from something I loved dearly, out of obedience. I didn’t have a clue where that might lead.  

But amid the uncertainty, I heard a tiny whisper from God, “Keep moving forward.” So, I did. Even though what lies before us may remain unknown, God’s presence is our certainty.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

 Isaiah 43:5

If we cling to this promise instead of the fruit from an old harvest, we will continue to move forward even when it’s scary- even when it’s unknown. Even when the answers are not clear.

The reality is, the last season I said goodbye to, gave birth to the priceless gift of ARISE. But if I had gone my own way, I would have never known the harvest ahead.  

When we hold onto dead things, we run ourselves ragged in the harvest. The old thing has passed away and the new thing isn’t quite ready for harvest.

But the day is coming where the new seed will bloom out of the death of an old season. The seed is in the ground, sister.

We were not made to be grave tenders- to watch over dead things. But we were made for more- to cultivate the living and participate in the flourishing.

The seed may be in the ground. But it’s up to us to be faithfully expectant- moving forward-despite the uncertainty. To release our controlling grasp. And place our full confidence and trust in the One who has always provided and made a way.

It’s time to let go.

Remember, with every goodbye, comes a new hello.

New exciting doors.

New moments of God’s goodness and grace.

New people to encounter and love.

New memories to bask in and hold in our hearts forever.

May we move forward with open hands and willing hearts, ready to receive the abundant harvest that is coming! Since the seed is in the ground, you can be assured, flourishing is ahead.  

So, hello to whatever is next!

Prayerfully Expectant,

Kierstin Almstrum, ARISE and SHINE Blog Editor

 

- Kierstin Almstrum, ARISE Director of Online Operations and Project Management