It was back in 1991 and Marsha and I had a wonderful life in Houston. Her parents and mine lived in the area as well as other family members. Our children, Kelly and Paul, were in a good school and had lots of friends. We had built our own home and loved the area it was in. But we received a phone call from our Bishop asking us to visit a church in Oklahoma. Marsha and I traveled to Oklahoma with no intention of accepting the appointment; we were just going at the request of our Bishop, who told us that we could turn the appointment down if we didn’t want to accept it. So, we went and visited St. Luke’s thinking it would be a quick little getaway. However, the moment when we walked into the sanctuary, something happened. We looked at each other – we both felt at home. We had a choice to make. Everything we knew and loved was back at Houston. But we had a sense that God had been in the sanctuary with us, calling us to Oklahoma City.
We will all have times when we’re faced with a choice – move forward into the unknown or return to the life we’ve known. Intellectually, it made the most practical sense for us to stay in Houston, but spiritually, going to Oklahoma felt right to us. It is one of the best decisions we ever made and has blessed our family many times over. If we would have known then how coming to St. Luke’s would give us an incredible family of faith, dear friends, and that Oklahoma would be where both of our children would meet their spouses – we wouldn’t have hesitated a moment to make that initial visit to St. Luke’s. But we didn’t know then what we know now. What we did have then was an awareness of the presence of God with us and an assurance that moving into the unknown felt right. When you feel God calling you into a new future, don’t let fear of the unknown send you back to what’s more familiar. Stay with God and have faith in the adventure ahead!
Dr. Bob Long, Senior Pastor
