January 7th - As I reflect on this date, I am surrounded with many thoughts, emotions, feelings, and just truly in awe.
This day - my beautiful older sister was born. It is the day that Sherri Sue Ashcraft entered our family. She is celebrating this day in Heaven...at the feet of the King of Kings! She is missed but I would never rob her of the joy of being with Jesus.
January 7, 2018 - Today we will have our first official service for Church Without Walls Delta. In church planting lingo this means we are officially our own church with a regular weekly public worship service. As I reflect on this I stand in amazement of how God has worked and continues to work. I look back on what I, in my flesh, thought this day would mean and how God has taken that and totally re-shaped, changed and accomplished HIS plan! In my mind, I had faces of those that would be leading in worship for this service, I had in place who the leadership would be, I had it figured out....BUT GOD!! Do you know that other than our family - NOT ONE of the people I envisioned will be a part. And...I am GREAT with that because God had a plan so much bigger, so much greater. He has and continues to build Church Without Walls Delta into the church that HE has called it to be. We aren't even supposed to be at this point yet - BUT GOD had a different plan and I am so humbled by it!!!
This journey, it hasn't been without hard. It hasn't been without discouragement. It hasn't been without second guessing. In fact, I still struggle with all of that. Yet, God in His infinite wisdom has paved the path. He has opened the flood gates and I await anxiously to see what He does next!
For the past 6 years I have asked God to give me a word for the year. A word that He wants me to focus on and incorporate into my life. Most years I LOVE the word He has given me and I readily embrace it. This time...well, we are 7 days into the year and I am finally accepting that yes this indeed the word He has for me - PERSEVERANCE. Perseverance is not a fun word - here is some of what comes up when you look it up:
* Not giving up - even when it is hard
*Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success
*Perseverance is not one long race; it is many short races one right after the other
Sounds exciting right? Not so much... This church planting thing, it is hard. We have and will have more delays. It does feel like several small races back to back - we finish one and before we catch our breath the next one begins. Yet - the end result is SO worth it. When we see lives changed with the Gospel. When we see families broken being restored. When we see someone accept Jesus as their Savior. When we see a young child follow in baptism. When we see the truth sink into the heart. Then....the PERSEVERANCE is worth it and so much more!!!!
Church planting isn't the only area that God is calling me to persevere in. Working on my Masters in Special Education is HARD. Most days coming home from work and knowing I have a paper to write, an assignment to do, assigned reading - that is not easy. However, God has continued to line out this path and show me THIS is from Him!!! Raising a son with special needs who is ever closer to being an adult and trying to know what the best path for him is - this is NOT easy. There are days that I just want to stop and just let the chips fall where they may...but God is calling Joel and I to persevere in seeking a diagnosis, to seek the best possible future for our sweet boy!
So....this year, 2018, I will persevere in what He has called me to do. I will persevere in seeking to share the Gospel. I will persevere in seeking those who need encouragement and support. I will persevere in pursuing a career in Special Education. I will persevere in seeking future opportunities for my son. I will persevere in working alongside my husband in this church planting journey....
I will PERSEVERE....
