A New Season at Nightlight

The Lord has often spoken to me through themes of Scripture as I enter into new seasons of life. For many years now, I have started a new year off praying that God would give me a word to hold onto throughout the year. In 2021, the word was building, from Isaiah 58. We did indeed build programs and our team, and we built (remodeled) a HOUSE! We opened Daybreak House in July 2021 as our pilot crisis housing program in just two weeks.

In 2022, the Lord gave me the word planted, from Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17, which describes trees planted by streams of water that produce fruit, no matter the conditions surrounding them, because they trust the provision. This translated to being more planted in Scripture and abiding with the Lord, so that I could be more flexible to changing conditions.

After a year of building I was ready to be planted with the fruit of our labors. But planting turned out to look different… In the spring, most of our team was on the verge of burnout, so we had to significantly shift what we had been planning for the year, and each staff person  took a brief sabbatical. We went from having all of these new ministry plans in 2021 to closing the crisis house, losing one of our staff, and pausing outreach to pick up the pieces.

During my sabbatical, I asked the Lord, “Is it time to walk away?” It would have been easy. We could have shut down the local ministry work and re-allocate our team toward our international ministry. But I felt the Lord reassuring me that His work (and mine) was not finished and instead it was time to fight! To remain planted firmly in my calling, even when the conditions were different from what I had expected. 

Those “conditions” realigned our hearts in an intentional way. We had the chance to entrust our hearts, ministry, and plans. God is honoring our obedience with a new season. In July, we got the chance to move our office to Commercial Street, with new partnerships and opportunities to connect with women. It feels like a tangible reminder that God is trustworthy, and He will be faithful in trials and in blessings. 

I pray you would also get to experience God’s deep assurance in whatever conditions or battles you may be facing this year. He is faithful!