I hate to use the phrase “I feel blessed” because it is so cliche`. In fact, it’s just one of those phrases that makes me cringe to hear.
Yet the reality is this. I have been tremendously blessed in the year or so I’ve been here. “What! Things couldn’t have gone worse? The church is shrinking, the wheels seem to be coming off, the pastor and music guy left 3 months after you arrived… How can you be blessed in that job?” That is the argument I have inside myself when I reflect on things. But things here have been fantastic.
Compared the first 12 months here with the first 12 months in Horrorville and you will see a case study in opposites. There I tried to fit in and didn’t. Here I didn’t try to fit in and did. There I absorbed myself in relationships with students. Here those relationships have taken a while to develop. There I tried to force myself onto the school campuses and was shut down. Here I submitted myself to whatever and the doors of the school swung open. There I begged and massaged to get leaders to come, and they didn’t. Here I literally have turned them away, and the ones that are here are incredible. There we had a long standing mission trip with minimal results. Here we had a first time mission trip with maximum results. There we had a board who was very involved and insightful. Here we have a board that just listens and asks “how can we help. There we had no friends and were lonely. Here we’ve found friends who accept us and care for us. There I had a hard time making end roads into outreach level students. Here I’ve been handed an opportunity to reach people doing what I love most. There, the harder I worked and marketed, the fewer kids showed up. Here they just show up, eager to learn. There money was a constant struggle. Here I rarely worry about feeding the kids. There I was lost everywhere I went. Here… Well I still get lost, but it’s easier to find my way. There, each new idea was met with pessimism. Here, new ideas are lapped up. There I was championed for working cross-generational and scorned privately. Here, such work comes easily and is appreciated. There I came with much fanfare and was labeled as a changing force. Here I came and have made change without causing ripples. There it was so forced to teach God’s word, it never felt right. Here I can teach freely and the biblical truths are applied liberally.
All that to say… I must be blessed here. No other word can describe the things we have been able to accomplish here. I cannot wait to see what God has next for us as we get ready to launch our ministry teams and the equipping/winning phase. I am eager to see it happen. I can’t wait to see more students grow in their relationships with the Lord. I can’t wait to see friends leading friends down Romans Road. There is a sense of patient urgency as we approach this new phase of ministry. We recognize that we are poised to do something for God’s glory, yet I do not desire to rush things. I continually am pleased to see individual progress made.
In short… I am blessed to be here in Romeo.
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