Years ago, a pastor shared with our pastoral staff that, “Healthy things grow.” It impacted me at the time and continues to impact me now. Have you ever noticed that healthy things grow? Plants, children, emotional lives, our relationship with God, and our relationship with other people are a few things that come to mind. If these things are healthy, they are progressing, moving forward, changing, metamorphasizing so to speak.
In my office, I have a picture of the entire phrase:
“Healthy things grow
Growing things change.
Change challenges us.
Challenge forces us to trust God.
Trust leads to obedience.
Obedience makes us healthy.
Healthy things grow…”
As you can see, it is a cycle. Even in our relationship with God, it seems as soon as we get comfortable, there will inevitably be some change which forces us to trust God in a new way.
For example….let’s say you step out and pray out loud for someone for the first time. It is scary. It is change. (But it also helps you grow spiritually.) The next thing you know, you might be leading in Children’s Ministry or leading a small group. It is challenging. Things come up which you have no answer for. It forces us to trust God and seek Him.
And then there are those times, when the person in your group does not get healed, the check does not come in the mail, _________(you fill in the blank) and easy answers just don’t come. And we learn to be obedient to God anyway. It is healthy. It is challenging, and it forces us to grow.
Choose to remember, that even if it is not easy, growth and change can be good. They may be challenging, but that forces us into the arms of our Father.
One healthy thing that is growing and changing is Vineyard Women. Join with me as we welcome Jenny Hernandez on as the leader of Vineyard Women over the next couple of months! She has been on staff for years in Children’s Ministry. This will be a change for all of us, but believe it will be a good one.
Healthy things grow…
Enjoy the Change!
Blessings,
Thora
We’re going to miss having you as our Women’s Pastor, but knowing that you will still be around is a great comfort. We look forward to Jenny’s leadership.
Thank you, Thora, for all you do and have done,, for being such a beautiful example/model of obedience, trust, Grace, humility, servant leadership…
Jenny, welcome to this new position!
I know you will continue to rely on God and allow Him to shape you and utilize you in the way He has destined for you!
Praise and thanks to God for you both, and for all of our humble leaders here at VC!!!
Thora, in this new season of life, remember God is with, for, around and in you. I pray for God’s Very Best to you.
Thora, I look forward to seeing how God grows you in your next chapter of life!!
Welcome Jenny!