Grace to Make it Through

My home church, Rolling Hills Church, in Platteville, WI asked me to record a video so I could inform the folks up there what is taking place here and let them know how things were going with me. Pastor Don also posted it on RebuildLakeshore, but I wanted to share it with some of the folk who aren't familiar with the rebuildlakeshore website and add a little bit more commentary.

I'm often asked what exactly it is that I do down here in Lakeshore. If I had an exact job it'd be easy to tell folks what I do, but the fact of the matter is I don't have anything that I do exactly the same from week to week. I do answer phone calls and field questions, but that is different each time I pick up the phone. I organize the sleeping arrangements, but some weeks that takes 10 minutes other weeks over and hour. I sometimes help line up the team with homes to work at and get them to the sites, but not always. But whatever it is I do, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the folks here and to be in the place the Lord has placed me – even if it does wear me out at times, I am so glad to be here in Lakeshore.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve here in Lakeshore and to work alongside the folks here at the church and in the community. This experience has been amazing and the Lord has stretched and grown me in many different ways. The Lord continues to reveal truths to me in scripture, break me of sin, and sanctify me. He puts me in situations I've never been in before, but gives me the grace to make it through. I'm learning a lot of this “life lessons” people are supposed to learn, I guess, as they grow up - like looking for a car, dealing with insurance, budgeting, rarely but occasionally dealing with difficult people, and other random things.

It's sometimes hard, but it is overall awesome. To see the Lord working in such tangible ways is incredible, to see such great need is heartbreaking. To see what devastation a storm can leave behind makes me wonder about the force of the storm, but to know that our God is bigger and is capable of holding that storm in his hands makes me stand in awe of the greatness of our God. To see God give hope to the hopeless, a good nights rest to the weary, patience in the heat and hard times, food to the hungry, and the grace to sustain us through the day are just a few of the amazing ways I get to see the Lord work.

I know I could go on and on about how much I love it here in Lakeshore and there are so many stories to tell, but I must save those for another day.