STXWM Blog

It felt strange to be back again. I know we still had to move our things out, but just being back made me feel empty inside.

This was no longer our home, and we were no longer needed here. The Lord had called us away to a new assignment in a new place.

What once was, was no more…

We had called the Gulf Coast our home for almost 13 years, but everything is different now. It had been for some time. You never know when your life will change.

But it was time to move on, to what we believe is better.

Let’s rewind to last year, when I found myself feeling hurt and lost. I kind of thought I would never recover. My heart was too broken to try to pick up all the pieces.

However, moving on was the only way I could heal.

I spent the next 9 months meeting new people and allowing myself to be vulnerable again. It really helped me break out of the shell that I had crawled into.

I was reconnecting with old friends, and I was able to make new ones too!

But God wasn’t done there. He had more for my family and me. I just wasn’t sure I was ready for any more change.

They say, “time heals all wounds”, but who’s the one that measures that time?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

¹ “There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.”

God is the one who is orchestrating my life. He’s the one who holds the stopwatch. He knew the exact moment that I would fall apart, and the exact moment that I would be okay again. And I was okay again. I was okay for a while, because God didn’t create us to walk this world alone. He called us to connect with one another.

Change is an inevitable part of life. Whether you want to embrace it or not, it happens. My daughter will be 6 this spring, and I feel like it was just yesterday I was cradling my belly and preparing for her arrival.

But now we’re talking about updating her room and putting together a Barbie Birthday Party for her including a bounce house, balloons, pizza, and cake. She even wants to invite boys to her party! What is happening?

This change is fun, scary and a little overwhelming, but I know that I have support. Just like I did a few months ago when we moved to the country.

This was the new assignment that the Lord was calling us to- Columbus, Texas. Where we know NO ONE. Haha, God’s a prankster. No really, he always knows what we need when we need it. Just like Ecclesiastes 3 says.

We had to let go of the past, to move forward, but we had to take that time to heal first.

God gave us time to heal and grow in those new friendships, so that we could embrace our new ones.  

I’ve got to be honest; it wasn’t easy moving to a new town and meeting new people. I began second guessing myself. This made me feel miserable and alone. Was it worth it to alter who I was?

After some time of reflection and prayer, the Lord reminded me that I’m not meant to be alone.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 helped me understand the importance of companionship and support. This scripture is the foundation upon which we, the South Texas AG Women, stand: “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”

Before we made a clear decision about moving to Columbus and pastoring again, we had to be willing to continue to put ourselves out there.

We had our church family constantly praying for us and lifting us up. We knew God was calling us to something new.

It was a Sunday morning service that spoke to both my husband and me. That was the moment we knew; it was time to walk out in faith.

To think that just in the last two years, so much had changed in my life that made me feel alone. But God brought me true friends who helped me find joy again. Now, he’s asking me to be that same support and healing for other women, just as they were for me.

By sharing my story and the healing I have found, I hope to help others let go of their pasts and embrace new beginnings with the same audacious faith.

We are better together, and with God’s guidance, we can be true friends and a source of strength for one another.

Proverbs 27:9

“The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.”

Melinda Brown is a mother, co-pastor, entrepreneur, and now she can add author to her ever growing list of gifts. She and her husband, Jason, pastor Columbus Community Church in South East Texas and now, Melinda has agreed to come on board as one of our newest authors on the STXWM Blog Team. Her heart is to share the love of Jesus through her writing and to tell the world of the healing and comfort that can be found in a relationship with the Lord.