On the way to work this morning, I was listening to the song list for this Sunday’s service. As I listened to the lyrics, I had one of those “chills” moments. You know what I mean? When you know…that you’re supposed to “get something” and “see God’s work”.
Let me step back. Last night, one of the challenges in the Ash Wednesday service was to pray about how you could shine His light more, share His Word more, and spread His love. I was reminded that…I have a blog and a love of words, so…use them. As I drove home, I told myself that I would write AT LEAST one post a week through Lent (and hopefully longer) to share my ponderings.
Side note. In Charles Dickens books, things all seem to connect by the end. So….if you read the entire post, you’ll understand the title I chose. And…let’s just say the Author of my journey is more trustworthy and loving towards me than Charles Dickens ever was. I mean, he just left me books to read.
Well, as the lyrics played and my smile appeared, I knew what this post needed to be. So, I told myself that as soon as my day was prepped, I would begin this week’s post.
To share the message I need to write, I need to go back a couple years. Back at the end of 2022, Jon Gordon shared a post about “picking a word” for the new year. Likewise, I heard the same thought on K-Love. So…I did. My word was going to be JOY. At the time, I was seeing the church family I have grown up in and love dearly continue to decline in membership. My heart hurt, but I was certain that I was to “find the Joy” in the sorrow. Throughout 2023, I looked for JOY in sad moments. When you look, you find it.
At the end of 2023, I pondered my new word for the new year. Our church membership continued to decline, and my heart hurt. As I read Bible passages about hard times, I saw again and again how God’s people trusted Him. So, my word for 2024 was TRUST. I was encouraged to TRUST Him in the midst of the decline. So, I did my best to trust as people I loved exited our church family. I didn’t get it. I was still serving and being challenged. In the midst of my sadness and confusion, I trusted.
In October of 2024, I sat with my pastor and learned that he was going to begin transitioning out of the pastorate of our church. I knew it was coming, but it caused worry. What would happen? I reminded myself that I was supposed to trust. In the midst of this tidal wave of uncertainty. I determined my new word would be HOPE. I trusted Him through some very hard times at my church, and that trust prompted me to hold on to hope this His plan was good and His power would uphold us.
It made sense to me since my hope comes from my faith. My hope is built on the foundation I find at Calvary – not the building, but the cross of Christ. Regardless of how long we would be without a pastor, I had hope. I knew the lives of my church family mattered to the One we worship and serve. That knowledge…that trust…told me to hope. He had a plan and eventually…we would see the good in the midst of the hard times. We would experience the joy that follows the storm. We would again see the mountaintop after walking through the valley so long.
My word for 2025….Hope. It was picked in October. But alas….God knows me. In December, the deacons started having ‘talks’ with a church that had split from its ‘parent church’ a year and a half (I think) prior. It was planned for us to share Christmas Eve service. There were multiple reasons behind that plan. One, we were without a pastor who would normally lead our Christmas Eve service. Two, they had a growing congregation and their previous Christmas Eve service became a “standing room only” due to the limited space they had. Finally, it gave us a chance to see how well our two bodies could combine into one. It went well.
That led to us sharing three services in January/February. Then, both churches voted to continue to worship together and contemplate the possibility of our churches merging into one.
Ah, the hope. There is so much joy on Sundays…and throughout the week as we join together for Bible study and other ministry events. Honestly, I’m ready to vote to merge into one body of believers now. Perhaps others are not, but….I still hope.
Oh, let me tell you the chills moment. The song was “Good, Good Father”. As I listened to the lyrics, these words…these words brought chills to my arms, a smile to my face, and happy tears to my eyes….
Oh, and I’ve seen many searching for answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching for answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need before we say a word
Yes! Through my years of JOY and TRUST, I was searching for answers only HE could provide.
He knew what we needed. We needed our hope to be found at Calvary. We needed to trust that He had an answer that only He could provide. No one ever thought of our Southern Baptist Church possibly merging with a nondenominational church. It just….happened. Why? Because…God. God knew. He knew the valley we’d been walking through. He knew we needed our joy restored. He knew our hope was found in His Cross at Calvary, and that through Him…our Hope could be found.
Now…if you know me, you know I love PUNS. Are you ready for the name of the church we’ve been worshiping with. It is Hope Valley. Yep. Our Hope is found at Calvary. We’ve walked through the valley and now….we are reminded of HOPE….through Hope.
I’ll keep you posted on the journey.
But….what do you HOPE in? Where is your hope found?
If it’s not found in Calvary and the cross of Christ….you’re missing true joy, genuine hope, and a peace that surpasses understanding.
Jodi Lea Pflaumer, Author 