Many of you know that my husband has been off on a medical leave for quite some time. We’ve known that outside of a miracle, (which we never discount the possibility of occurring), he was unlikely to return to the privilege of opening up the Word of God weekly and preaching the Good News to God’s people.
I’m so thankful that the ministry of the gospel has continued to move forward in his absence. I am so thankful that the church we love is going hard after Jesus. But the day the church we helped plant commissioned a new pastor was still a hard day. There was a finality to it that made me weep. I guess, deep down, there was a small part of me that thought maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to return to the pulpit.
I’ve mentioned more than once how my time studying the book of James to write Undeniable Faith has kept me rooted throughout this journey. And as I’m typing this, I’m marvelling at how a release date set months and months and months ago has fallen during one of the hardest ministry seasons we’ve ever faced. I thank the Lord for such gracious timing.
Releasing a prayer book and being present for all the things a book release requires has helped me abide in Jesus during a stretch where I might have been tempted to withdraw. And I was reminded on Sunday that we abide in Jesus, and we are not to attach ourselves to lesser things. If I attach myself to titles like pastor’s wife, or writer, or my job with a local charity, change is shattering.
But when attached to the vine, this branch is a fruit-producing daughter of God, and that never changes.
“Blessed is the [woman] who trusts in the Lord,
Jeremiah 17:7-8
whose trust is the Lord.
[She] is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for [her] leaves remain green,
and [she] is not anxious in the year of drought,
for [she] does not cease to bear fruit.”