My Jonah Moment(s)

    During the second week of February my second grade class was finishing up their unit on animal habitats. We were studying the ocean habitat and specifically just how great the ocean is. That Friday, Valentine's Day, I decided to tie my chapel sermon, if you can even call it that, to my lessons on the ocean habitat. I spoke about Jonah, and how God loved him so much, that he gave him a second chance in regards to Nineveh and the mission God had called him to there. I explained that God's love is greater than that of the ocean and that sometimes God offers us the opportunity for a second chance....

That very evening I hopped a plane to Philadelphia. A couple friends of mine were teaming up in Philly to launch a church and they had asked me to consider being part of the core leadership team. To be honest, I told them no. I love the life I have here in Ann Arbor and full-time ministry was not something I was interested in. Nevertheless, I headed to Philly to seek God and see if what they had going on was something I wanted to be a part of. I was already feeling a bit like a Jonah, like God had asked me to do something I didn't really want to do, but that it wasn't really about it.

Saturday in Philly was a lot of fun. We, the team of people who have already re-located to Philly for the church plant, headed to Reading, PA to help judge the Assembly of God's Fine Art's Festival. Or something like that. I was able to judge to short stories, poems, and other creative writing pieces. It was honestly SO MUCH FUN. At one point I popped in to observe one of the puppet shows. When the first puppet popped up he said: "Hi, I'm Jonah." My spirit smiled and I immediately left to go tell my friends about my second Jonah revelation. As I began to tell the story of the Jonah puppet, a kid who was standing there in the group of people informed me that his name was, in fact, Jonah.

I literally laughed out loud. Seriously God, I get it.... but did I?

As the day went on, the high of the Jonah revelation was diminished by a heaviness in my spirit. The oppression was so obvious. Attitudes shifted, and some of us actually became physically ill. There was tension among the team and I went off to bed emotionally exhausted and full of tears.

Whenever something is deeply burdening me, I like to journal about it. That evening I wrote:

     "God I don't want to be here. There is nothing that is easy about Philadelphia or the life I would have here. Philly is a fight... I am not strong enough for this challenge. I miss home. I miss Michigan where life is known and the future looks bright. I have a place to live there, a job, and a purpose there. I love it there...." 

I continued to write on about my dreams for love and relationship here in Ann Arbor. The potential for a spouse and a family; all of which could come from the friendships I've established here. That night I prayed for further confirmation and peace in my spirit; I was not let down.

In spite of having Jonah revealed to me 3 times in 24 hours, I was still looking for confirmation that God was going to take care of me if I moved to Philly for Him. Oh how stubborn we humans tend to be.

Thank God I had other people praying for me in this situation. Sunday morning I woke up not sure what to think. Saturday was a roller coaster and that evening I was to fly home to Michigan. I had hoped for a clear-cut sign; certainly hearing about Jonah all of those times wasn't enough. But as we headed from the Cherry Hill Mall to PHL, something shifted in my spirit. I wasn't ready to leave. Through all the uncertainty and tension, it was Philadelphia that I wanted to see, not Michigan. To top it off, the following Sunday, my sunday school lesson was on Jonah.... The curriculum picked it, not me. Go figure. I get it!

On February 28th I turned in my letter of Intent to WCA to inform them that I would not be returning to teach in the fall. Teaching this year has been phenomenal and I am going to miss my colleagues and students tremendously.

As I go into this next chapter of my life, I am going to need help and there are several ways you can help me. First and foremost is through prayer. I would not be where I am today if it were not for the prayers and support of my Christian family. Second of all, more prayer. Seriously guys, I'm not one to ask for help. I've grown quite accustomed to doing things alone, but God has challenged me to reach out to those that He has brought into my life and ask for help.

Lastly, if it's in your means, I could really use financial support. I need AT LEAST $1,000 to get to Philly and get on my feet. I will be serving the church full-time, and although rent and meals are provided, student loans, insurance, etc. are not. If each person reading this donates $10, that 1k will be raised very quickly. If all 488 of my facebook friends read this AND donate $10, I'll be all set to get started and then some.

There are a few ways to give. You can send me a check direcly (e-mail me at Cherith.Harkness@gmail.com for my address), you can donate straight to the church (www.theblockchurch.org), or you can send a check to the church and mention me in the memo. Sending it this way makes your donation tax-exempt.

Thanks for taking the time to read this lenghty blog post. I hope it helped you better understand where I'm coming from, where I'm headed, and how you can help me get there!