The Slough of Summer
It is hot here.
Kristen and I are feeling the exhaustion that comes with hard work and acclimation to the South. Last week, as we worked on the church building, Sam, son of Jake Rice, told me that his dad works with someone they call, sweaty Eric. Without skipping a beat he said to me, “You’re just like sweaty Eric.” There was no malice or disrespect, it was just a matter-of-fact statement like, “You’re tall” or “You’ve got a tiny beard” (also said to me by Jake’s daughter).
The good news is that with hard work, progress is being made. The AC unit will arrive tomorrow and the ducting will be run in the attic. Hopefully, the building will be cool on Sunday. The next two worship gatherings are forecasted to be burners at 91 and 96 degrees respectively (Worship gatherings in burning ovens are biblical and we have done a couple already - see Daniel 3).
An answer to prayer is that our lease is in hand. With all the labor and materials we are putting into making this space suitable for gathering, we have been praying for the security of a lease. The lease will ensure that we are at this location for the next 7-10 years worshipping our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. All thanks be to Him.
We are working on my employment at Covenant Baptist Church. My employment transfer from Crossway Fellowship to CBC will make Arkansas state taxes so much easier. However, this is a big job for us as a fledgling church. Pray that we administrate it well and that God connects us with wise people who can help us in the process.
Last, it is such a joy to work and live in this community of faith. We have new brothers and sisters who encourage and love us. God is so good. What we could only imagine in Seattle is now reality, with faces and names. God knew all along, and we just had to have a little bit of faith and courage to believe and trust Him. Packing up a moving truck and sloughing across Wyoming in a winter storm seems so far away. And soon this slough of summer will be in the past as well and God will have new things for us to trust him with as this heat and trial becomes a memory.
This is the path of faith. Ours is that thrilling story John Bunyon allegorizes in Pilgrim’s Progress. Paul says it this way,
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
Our blessed faith is believing Jesus, and pressing on in life, all while straining to see glory.
