It was so nice to connect with our Freedom Valley Tulsa Church plant last Thursday in class. We were joined by the church pastor and founder, Jason Fitch, his team member and executive pastor, Josh Ploch, and Mollie Myers, director of Love Tulsa.
There were two aspects of the class that are really touching my heart today. I'd like to write about both.
1. It was such a joy to have Mollie join our class. I loved hearing her share about Love Tulsa, an organization that partners with people who are really making a difference and loving people in the city. She had such a sweet spirit and her love of people and following God to love the often ignored reminded me so much of my own Mom. I really value the two points she shared with us in balancing ministry and family:
First, your family is your ministry, too.
Second, God is not a priority. He is who you base all your priorities on. Our relationship with God floods into our relationship with our families and into our ministry. We are relationship based. God, ministry, and family are all personal. We can't shut the switch off on any of them.
2. This was a very honest class. Toward the end we talked about how we deal with those hard days when things feel like they just keep falling through or you're just facing discouragement. This was close to my heart as God and I have been getting victory over these challenges together the past few weeks. Jason said, for him, it's a conditioning process, that over the past year God has been conditioning him to be tougher. He said that some days he struggles with just wanting to cry and complain, in fact, that was the morning for him. Jason said that some days he would love for God to just release the pressure valve on his life. But at the same time, that pressure is being used by God to turn him into a man he is thankful to become.
I love this about God. I love that even though he made me a sensitive and loving person, he makes my heart strong! I love that in the midst of struggles and feeling discouraged, he doesn't leave me. If I'll hold onto him and choose truth over fear... I will always learn and always grow from it. Ministry is very personal and that's why sometimes it hurts to be faithful to God in it. But I wouldn't trade this for anything... and I think Jason feels the same way. I love that the God we serve knows us so well that he can literally understand every single thing I feel. He offers me better counsel than I could ever dream of. He's my strong arm to hold onto when it feels like my legs are just about to give out. And he's the one who breathes a fire of passion and confidence of God's call into my heart... over and over and over again.
I love that Jason lets people into his growth process. His blog has been really helpful to me in learning to follow up with the things that I'm praying about or that God's speaking to my heart on. The journey won't always be pretty and we won't always love the trials we're going through... but it is so beautiful to keep following Jesus no matter what.
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