ON BECOMING A LOCAL PREACHER...

I've been told several times this evening that I have now joined the great tradition of preachers...existent for thousands of years...which is all very nice...but don't know that it means much to me yet!


It's been an emotional evening, granted, I cried profusely whilst giving testimony, which I am most mortified at (professionalist streak coming through again!), unfortunately therefore, so did my parents and several of the congregation! Was all way too emotional, but hey...I said what I felt God wanted me to say, who am I to argue!

It almost felt a little trite to me to do the whole... "being a Christian isn't about having an easy life"...spiel...but rather what I wanted to say, and think I did say, was being a Christian doesn't mean we don't really mess up sometimes, and it also doesn't mean that we deal with things and move on, often they stay with us, and we just have to keep giving them over to Him, because they are always going to be an issue for us, whether we like it or not, they are our perceptions of Paul's 'thorn in the flesh'.


A most wonderful and beautiful friend of mine came to see me after the service this evening. She's 7 years younger than me, but we are such good friends! She told me how much she'd always looked up to me from being a young teenager. Part of me thought that maybe I'd let her down by not being the good role-model, but I honestly believe that she respects me more now becuase I am honest with her about my failings. She has seen my not so great nature, and yet still sees what God is doing in me. And my oh my, it's clear that God is doing in her life, and it truly is beautiful!

So, as much as I hardly remember the vows I made, I will remember that God will use our inadequacies as potently as He uses are successes.

R x