Year: surrender. Step one, obey
His word. Step two, follow His will.
It was a rinse and repeat cycle…
keep walking. God was asking for
all of us, an undivided heart. There
was a knot in the threads forming
within me that was filled with fear,
worry and doubt. Prompted by the
Spirit during worship, we both went
forward at the invitation. Jon and
I stepped hand in hand, knowing
this was our first step in active
obedience towards the sale of the
company, but more importantly
and larger yet—another step in
devotion to our sovereign Savior.
This wasn’t just our old self believ-
ing from a church pew; instead, by
stepping out in submission… this
was our faith walk.
Soon after, on a cold January night,
we were in several feet of snow walk-
ing the property that the Lord had
clearly shown Jon we were to pur-
chase and give back to Him for the
work of His hands. The business
hadn’t even gone to market, but
faith — being sure of what we hope
for and certain of what we do not
see — was moving us forward, step
by step. The land itself was a dive,
dilapidated barns, junk, a moldy
water-logged home, & discarded
portions of chain link fences were
scattered throughout the acreage.
The scenario was vaguely famil-
iar, as in many ways this property
mirrored our old life. There were
hidden treasures discovered amidst
the debris: a pond, a crystal clear
creek, and clusters of established
trees. We knew this was the place
the Lord had set apart for Himself.
A transformation waiting to unfold.
6
BUILDING HIS UPSIDE-DOWN
KINGDOM
As Jon worked on preparations for
the company sale, prior to the busi-
ness even going to market we were
led by the Lord to purchase this
land. God had a building project
in mind for us as He did for Calva-
ry; sovereignly, both of them were
simultaneously aligned. Through-
out the design process, we were
made aware of the importance of
complete reliance on Him in spite
of the fact that the tapestry design
itself now seemed to have been
flipped upside down. Lord? You do
the weaving & design-—how us size,
location, boundaries… show us
your glory, was our heart’s cry.
At this point in our faith journey,
our church family was studying 1st
& 2nd Peter. In these particular
chapters of His living Word, we
learned more about God’s con-
struction process as He builds us, as
living stones, into a spiritual house.
In the project He was spearhead-
ing, God revealed and actively lived
out his role as architect, Christ’s
role as builder (like weaving,
neither Jon nor I have any talent
with carpentry, we were completely
trusting Him) and the Holy Spirit
as foreman who makes it all hap-
pen. He continually revealed His
glory! What freedom & joy to watch
the Lord masterfully work the loom
with His golden thread and create
something that was immeasurably
more than we could have asked or
imagined.
With Christ as trailblazer through
the entire process, the upcoming
sale of the company started to
became a reality. Jon was a horse
with blinders out of the race stalls,
running with eyes fixed on Jesus,
the writer of this faith story. I, on
the other hand, allowed a certain
“coin” to embed its way into my
very fiber. Pastor Jim talks of pride
as a two-sided coin. Over the next
few months, as we anticipated the
sale of the business, I experienced
the one side of pride: thinking
too much of myself. I was snared,
caught, in the gift itself. God led
me to the cross and gently remind-
ed me not to be so focused on my
sacrifice, but on HIS.
The other side of the coin of pride
is insecurity, thinking too little of
oneself. Suddenly the coin flipped,
now our gift to Him seemed not
enough and I was filled with fear.
Again, Scripture led me in my tan-
gled knots of sin back to the Father
& His grace. Through 2 Corinthi-
ans 8:11-12, He gave Jon and I His
advice in the matter: “Now finish
the work, so that your eager will-
ingness to do it may be matched by
your completion of it, according to
your means. For if the willingness is
there, the gift is acceptable accord-
ing to what one has, not according
to what one does not have.”
Both of us, in an expression of love
and thanksgiving, would gift to
the Lord what we had been called
to give. It was His all along. At the
end of the summer as the business
was changing ownership hands; we,
with open hands, were obeying our
Master to excel in this grace of giv-
ing. As we did so we were reminded
of the beauty of these hymn lyrics:
nothing in my hands I bring,
only to the cross I cling.