Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)
It was almost two years ago that my husband and I were discussing the possibility of me starting a website ministry. I had recently returned from an out of state speaking engagement, and was contemplating accepting the invitation of another. However, our children were still quite young at the time, and I was feeling the need to remain close to the nest. Homeschooling was a top priority for our family and flying here and there on the weekends was not exactly conducive to that task! Yet the desire to continue teaching God’s Word was still quite strong in my heart. As a result, I prayerfully began working part time on the Standing in the Square website ministry which allowed me the opportunity to fulfill both desires.
In between math lessons and history projects, mopping floors and making meals, the Lord graciously allowed me to piecemeal the ministry together in a manner which would hopefully bring blessings to others. (Honestly, at this point, I would be happy if it at least made sense to others!) For even now as I write this, I have both daughters sitting beside me creating clay projects and singing litte made up tunes in their silliest voices ever! When I stop and think about it, it is truly a miracle that I am even able to compose complete sentences! (Or am I?)
Anyway, here we are two years later. The CDs have been recorded and produced, a family Bible study guide written and published, and a website designed to accommodate it all. Most important, I believe my family has remained confident of my love and concern for them throughout the process.
Looking back I must say that one of the greatest spiritual lessons I learned through this endeavor was perseverance. You know, I used to believe that if God called you to do something, all the doors would automatically swing wide open, and the path would be made easy. (I’m not sure why I believed this fallacy, but I did.) However, experience has now taught me that this is not always the case. For there have been many trials and obstacles over the past two years that have tempted me to give up - my computer hard drive crashing midway through the project, to name one! That event alone was enough to make me throw my hands up and say, “Forget it, it’s not worth it! I must have taken a wrong turn on this journey!”
But I am thankful for God’s Word and His Spirit which kept me going, as well as all the Christian biographies our family has read about great men and women of faith who persevered in the midst of much opposition and hardship. And while I certainly can’t compare my computer woes to having an entire mission headquarters washed away by torrential rains like Ecuador missionaries, Jim and Elizabeth Elliot did, or losing five children to deadly diseases like China trailblazers, Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth did, I do know what it feels like to be dangerously close to throwing in the ministry towel.
Yet it is in these moments when God seems to supernaturally lift our heads, refresh our vision, and strengthen us to move forward. And for this I am truly grateful. For now I can joyfully stand before Him and say that I have completed what I believe He has called me to do. I did not lose hope. I did not throw in the towel. And regardless of what the Lord chooses to do with this ministry, it is so good to know that at the end of my life I will not look back with regret and say, “Gee, I wonder what might have happened if only I had persevered and…”
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.
