A few drops vs. the ocean

I love coming across something in my reading that so perfectly fits into my own personal struggles at that moment. Yesterday I read this by Jonathan Edwards:

"To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here: better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops; but God is the ocean."

Wow. I think that even works with following God's plans for you while walking through this life. I have rather pleasant accommodations right now. I have a beautiful apartment at the mission, overlooking a lake. I have stuff... like furniture. I have a job/ministry that I am passionate about. I have a lot of friends in Florida. I mean - a LOT. I've always been pretty social, but I've never had such a huge group of Christian friends who like to do all kinds of fun activities. And it's not just quantity, it's quality! Really, as always, my friends are my accommodations. I love them and can't imagine leaving them. But these are just drops; God is the ocean. I have been on this path for several years now. In fact, 3 years ago I was leaving to head to Papua New Guinea to serve there for 14 months. It was hard to leave my home in Wisconsin to travel to the other side of the world. I was devastated to leave my family & friends. But I LOVED it there. I'd never been so happy. Then 2 years ago, I cried all the way from PNG to the USA because I didn't want to leave my hut and my PNG family, or the life I'd enjoyed there, to live in Orlando of all places. But I've loved it here too! Today I was accepted to the New Tribes Bible Institute in Waukesha, WI. It's official - I'm leaving Florida and my life here. I obviously knew this was coming, but there's something about it being official that hit me pretty hard. Thankfully, I can look back over the last 3 years and see that even though the transition to each new place was BRUTAL, God has been faithful to provide to my every need. Including amazing friends. I KNOW, from my own experience, that if I follow where He leads, everything is going to be ok. Better than ok - because it will be from "...him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine". It feels awful right now. It feels unfair and too hard and I don't want to do it! But I know it's time to go, to move forward, and I have a strong suspicion that I will love what's next too. "Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to." ~ Elisabeth Elliot