It’s Complicated

How many times have you said, “It’s complicated.”? Unfortunately, it is a phrase that I have come to know all to well; however, when I utter this phrase, it has a more positive connotation to it than usual negative connotation we seem to attach to it.

I recently turned eighteen, but I have been raised in church since birth. From the youngest age I can remember, I was called to be a pastor. Because of I have been in church since birth and have had a calling of this magnitude for the longest that I can remember, I have always had burning desire to worship and come closer to Jesus; however, my burning desire has been threatened in the past year or so. Without going into full details, I eventually became spiritually dry.

I was recently attending Abundant Life Assembly of God (Ripley, TN) along with my mother and sister. I’ll be honest, the most dry services ever. Again, without going into full details, some things happened, which at the time seemed horrible, but now I see were for my good. After having some drama happening to me and being in a spiritual drought, I decided I was sick and tired of being spiritually dry, and that’s when things got COMPLICATED.

I have been wanting to go back to Whitefield Assembly of God (where I grew up and attended for fifteen years), so on September 3rd I decided to go to Whitefield. Then I went back on October 1st for both services and the camp meeting the same week, where I was refilled with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Eventually, I started going every Sunday morning and night, but things got even MORE COMPLICATED.

I later discovered that Whitefield doesn’t have youth services on Wednesday night, so I decided that I would go to The Stand at First Baptist on Wednesdays. On October 18, I attended The Stand for the first time, and the presence of God was there. Because of a great first-time experience, The Stand is where I go on Wednesdays, but it gets even MORE COMPLICATED THAN BEFORE.

Although I attend Whitefield on Sundays and First Baptist on Wednesdays, I still pledge part of myself to Abundant Life simply because that’s where my mother and sister attend on a regular basis. It might seem I have completely withdrew, but I haven’t, at least not yet.

So yeah, “It’s complicated,” for the better. I am once again on fire for God like once before; I no longer suffer from a spiritual drought. My assumption is that God put me in such position so that I wouldn’t be in a spiritual drought entering college next year to pursue church leadership. Usually complication makes things worse, but in my case it has made everything better.