Nov.
27th, 2016
It is with
mixed emotions of great joy, anxiety, sadness, and thankfulness that I make the
announcement that coming January, the Bowling family will be moving back to the
place we call home, East Tennessee.
Joy due to
the fact that I will be able to help and assist my aging mother in her
declining health, which is the main purpose of our move. Joy also that we will be closer to family and
loved ones on both sides, spiritual family and earthly kin.
Anxiety due
to the many unknowns as it pertains to housing, my children and the effect that
another move will have on them, and an ongoing effort to trust in God and His
promises to see our family through the transition.
Sadness due
to the leaving of a loving congregation that has treated us very well, and
loves us very much. As a good preacher
friend of mine once said, I’ve birthed them, buried them, and married them, and
in our fourth year here at Caverns Road our relationships are deep, and the
brethren will be dearly missed. Leaving
is one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever made.
Thankfulness
due to the Lord blessing us once again with another opportunity to labor in His
Kingdom with the Lawnville Road congregation in Kingston, TN as their pulpit minister
. Lawnvillle Road is a faithful and
sound congregation of the Lord’s church, and we Bowling’s look forward to
laboring and growing with them and adding their love to our long list of church
family and friends.
Friends and
Brethren, Summer and I have prayed diligently about this for many months. The Lord has shown us in very clear ways that
the decision we have made is His Will. Please continue to pray for our efforts
in His Kingdom. And please, pray for my
sons, Tyler and Bradley by name. Being
in High School with girlfriends has made this no easy decision on them. They will pick my nursing home one day, and I
fear that right now.
No one
promised me that laboring for the Lord’s church would be an easy task. I was promised that it would be an absolute
blessing, and that has worked out to be absolutely True.
In His Love
and Good Service,
Tom and
Summer Bowling, Bradley and Tyler too
Love--
