A CHANGE OF SCENERY by Shara Bueler-Repka
We prayed for confirmation on which “trail” to take, needing to make sure that “check” was from the Lord and not just our own hearts wanting to visit our friend. (1 John 4:1)
We rolled toward our destination with a big question mark looming above us. Where did God want us? My husband, Bruce, and I live on the road full-time with our horses and music ministry, traveling to wherever the Lord sends us. But sometimes discerning His destination isn’t so easy. A good friend of ours asked us to sing/minister again at a venue we attended for the past few years. We always had a blast hanging out there, and we’d made many friends through the years. And the people at the cowboy church at the end of the weekend were always receptive, as the Holy Spirit moved. And, to be honest, it sure didn’t hurt that they graciously gave a generous love offering, monetarily blessing our travels. Even though the provision is never our focus, anxious thoughts try to invade: “I hope there’s enough for… (fill in the blank: diesel, hay bills…). Our friend who invited us patiently waited for our answer… Yes? No? Usually, we’d have jumped at the chance to go again. But a “check” in our spirits alerted us that the Lord may need us elsewhere. This impression started after receiving a phone call from another friend in another state, inviting us to come up to her ranch. We knew she was struggling, but we all walk through those “valleys”, and usually, just phone conversations could suffice.
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The closer we got to the scheduled venue, the stronger the “check.” Bruce and I decided we were not supposed to be at that venue. We didn’t want to disappoint our friend, but we had to decline his offer. Our friend kindly understood, informing us that God had already moved someone else to provide music for the cowboy church. Truth is, we realized later that this was God’s plan all along. And a little side note here? If we had pushed aside that Holy Spirit “check”, we would have pushed this other musician out of what the Lord had called him to do. How many of God’s perfect plans have been squelched because someone forced themselves into a position, not theirs to take? We swung onto this new “trail”, this change of scenery, and headed to our ranch-friend. The closer we got to her place, the more peace we felt that this was the right decision. (Romans 5:1-2) However, there was one hitch-in-the-get-along. Getting into her ranch was going to prove difficult for our rig because of the terrain. But God had that figured out, too. The day we were to pull in, our friend called. “Hey,” she said, “I just ran into a friend of mine who lives down the road from me.” I could hear her smile over the phone. “I told her our dilemma, and she said you guys could hook up on her ranch for as long as you need.” We drove down the dusty road toward our new destination. Two goats and a horse galloped beside the fence line, bleating and neighing their greetings as we rolled toward the entrance.
