The Body

I remember when my family first moved to Nebraska, it was the end of my third-grade year. We started church shopping almost immediately. As kids, that just looked like the family attending a different church every Sunday for several weeks on end. I didn’t understand why it took so long or how it could be a “difficult process” as we overheard our parents say. I didn’t know what I didn’t know at the time and I’m thankful for that childhood innocence back then, but now, I know. Back then I figured all they wanted to do was find a church like the one that we attended back in Colorado. And to an extent, that’s what they wanted. But there’s so much more to it than that, as anyone who’s gone through the process knows all too well.

We’ve lived in Blanchard for right at a year now. And what a blessed and difficult year it’s been. Through it all, our brand-new church family has been a shining light of conviction, hope and encouragement. The body of believers assembled at NE 10th street are truly something special. They are the product of generations of work of faithful disciples of Jesus who were bold in their faith, proclaimed the gospel with all authority and sowed countless seeds that undoubtedly germinated, blossomed and bared fruit at Blanchard First; many of those people never saw that fruit but we are now the ones benefitting from it.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” 1 Cor. 3:6-7 (ESV)

While Pastor Travis is a gifted speaker and his sermons don’t tickle ears - they convict my spirit while simultaneously spurring me on to good works - the body isn’t his and it’s not because of him that it’s so great. Only God can bring people together and make something capital "g" good like He has at Blanchard First. Only God can soften and compel hearts to walk in His ways; His people are simply the instruments for His work. It takes a lot of willing vessels to carry a message thousands of years and yet, the message of the Gospel continues today.

Kennedy was deployed for just under two months and it was truly the people of Blanchard First who kept me going through that difficult season. Travis said from stage one Sunday right before Kennedy left that (paraphrasing), “as Christians we’re always doing one of three things – going through a difficult season, coming out of a difficult season or preparing for one,” or something to that effect. Those words cut deep for me as I was preparing for what I knew would be a difficult season, but, luckily, I did not know to what extent it would be difficult.

From the moment Kennedy left, it seemed like we were faced with a new challenge every week. In the face of death, we had to navigate how to love family well when words failed; sickness took us out both inside the house and out in the pasture with the animals; big emotions showed up at inconvenient times and places; vehicles decided they didn’t need to work properly; the government took a quick break which left us financially uncertain; and on and on, or so it felt. And yet, I’ve never felt more loved and safer than I did through that season even though I was physically handling things on my own. People came out of the woodwork to help, to encourage and to love us well even when they didn’t realize what trials we were facing that week.

Most importantly, every situation was seasoned with the Lord’s favor, and His hand was all over us. It used to be hard to see God working through a difficult season, but sitting in His word has been transformative in so many ways. What used to simply be words on a page became a mirror for how I should view myself and is slowly but surely becoming a window through which I view the world. That concept isn’t mine, it came from my time with Jennie Murray, my spiritual parent who laid down her life to pursue a relationship rooted in discipleship. Jennie is quick to give credit to the Lord for simply walking in her obedience to Him. And she’s exactly right in that but it’s her shoulders I stand on, not in my faith because that’s my own and it only comes from and is built upon the Lord, but in the sense that if she wasn’t obedient, I wouldn’t be at this junction today.

I wouldn’t be listening to a slow dribble of water coming out of a burst pipe behind the washing machine and thinking about how thankful I am for it. We weren’t planning to be home today (Nov. 11). After dropping the kids off at “school” at church, Kennedy and I were planning to go to the bookstore and hang out for a few hours before picking the kids up and heading to the Quarter Horse world show for the afternoon. We would’ve been gone for eight or more hours after leaving just before 9.

But last night happened. Lorelai woke up screaming and very unhappy. It took several hours to figure out she was hunger. She put away a very large banana and finally went back to sleep. It was a lot of broken sleep for everyone, and we didn’t get up nearly as early as usual. I sent Kennedy to town with the kids, and I stayed home to get the day started, late. Around 11, I hear a whole lot of water rushing in the kitchen when there was no reason for that. The hot water was free flowing into the kitchen, without permission. Gallons and gallons of water poured out in the few minutes it took to move everything and get it shut off. If we had been gone, that would’ve been running for many hours. I have no doubt our entire house would’ve flooded.

Thank you, Jesus, for a baby who didn’t sleep well last night. Thank you, Jesus, for a late start to our day that kept us home. Thank you, Jesus, for showing us your favor even though we never deserve it and it’s in the midst of a situation that simply isn’t ideal. Nobody wants this situation to play out, but I’m so glad it did because it reminds me to continue looking for Jesus in everything. It also reminds me to write down these Kairos moments, that’s not just important, it’s life-giving to be reminded of the way the Lord shows up for us and to review those often. We need to be reminded that God is good no matter the outcome, no matter the context, no matter what.

Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 100:5 “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”