Pilgrim Soldier

This week is half-term here in Surrey and Zoe and the girls have just left to travel down to my in-laws in Taunton. I’ve got a little bit of spare time before I head off to the evening meeting so I was just having a look back through my old entries on the blog. It suddenly dawned on me that this weekend last year I was at Sunbury Court for my Assessment Conference. Those of you who have followed this blog for awhile, or who know me, know that the results of the weekend didn’t quite work out as planned.

Yet as I look back over the last year I can see that God really was in control of these events. As the weekend started last year I was challenged deeply through Phil Laeger’s arrangement of “I’m in His hands” which so simply reminds us that whilst we may not know what is going to happen, God holds us in His hands and knows what is in store for us. So after getting over the initial shock of being turned down, I resolved there and then to ‘jump through’ whatever ‘hoops’ The Salvation Army put in my way, because I was confident of what it is that God wants me to do with my life.

There were some difficult steps along the way but God has been there all the way through with the family and I. But what a difference a year makes. Looking at my own life, I am a far more rounded person and have learnt a great deal about who I am in Christ. My faith has been stretched like never before. My ministry is, though difficult at times, starting to make some steps forward, and of course my beautiful wife will now be my ‘official’ partner in ministry after we’ve been training together.

After the despair of 12 months ago the future is bright. Yet still I know that everything is in God’s hands!