Devotions with Holly

Dear Church Family:​
The Goal – This ONE thing! Philippians 3:10-13 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him from death. I want to share in his sufferings and be like him even in his death.  Then there is hope that I myself will somehow be raised from death.  I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason he made me his.  Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me.
 
There is a saying in the Woodys house. “We can only go forward.” We make mistakes, plenty of them. Many of us would love to have do-overs, but that is not how this timeline we exist in works, no chutes and ladders in life. You just keep moving forward.
We made a really big move last summer. BIG! We left all we knew; a culture we were familiar with, an area we celebrated, people we treasured. We are now experiencing the blessings and challenges of this new KS adventure. Many of you have encouraged us and shown such kindness to our family. We have had wonderful opportunities in ministry. We are walking in step with you now. But, every once in a while, we look back and think, “WHAT HAVE WE DONE?” And then we remember, “We can only go forward.” 
I am not sure all Paul forgot in the past, but he reminds us the same. It’s about moving forward. It’s about the goal before us. And what is that goal? A new job, a new home, or at least a clean home, better marriage, good retirement, NO, no, no. Those are good goals, but not THE GOAL. There are many little goals along the way as we walk in step with Him, but they are simply steps in the journey of THE GOAL. THE GOAL is THIS ONE THING. To be what God made me to be- HIS.
 
Holly Woodbridge