The message came during my last week of routine—before the succession of transitions began. Would I consider preaching again at one of my favorite places? Well sure I would! We exchanged proposed weekends until we reached an impasse. I thought I had plenty of time left, but I had scheduled more than I’d realized.
November 9?
No way. That’s two weeks before my wedding. There’s no way I’ll have time for that, let alone the headspace and focus.
We circled proposed dates again, double-checking. Nope. The only availability before I left the country was November 9.
I mean, I didn’t have to preach, right? But there’s something about those beautiful hills that draws me. One of my best friends, the community, the calm. The way the Spirit guided me there last time. Mmmmmmmmm. Okay, I’ll do November 9. Three sermons in 1.5 days. Got it, yeah. Part of the reason I took it was just because I actually wanted to. I enjoy preaching, I enjoy Advent Hope, I enjoy the community, and I’m deeply blessed in going.
But another part of me wanted to go in a self-preservation way. As I’ve said, transitions are the hardest part of life for me, and I dig my heels in hard when they’re on the horizon. I procrastinate, ignore, binge watch, and do everything stick-head-in-sand-like that I can. Unfortunately, this also includes avoiding the Great Revealer of Truth and Gentle Hands of Comfort. Me + transitions = no devotional time to speak of. How can I speak to He who is truth when I’m trying to avoid all the truth?
Thus, the second and main reason I chose to preach two weeks before one of the most amazing, wonderful, and logistically-draining days of my life was because I knew it would help me stay close to my Best Friend. I may not want to kneel for myself, but I’ll certainly kneel for others. And in going for others, my own burdens were laid down at the feet of He who can handle it all.
One of my favorite preachers, and dearest friends, told me that God calls the weakest of people to be preachers because He knows they need the extra draw to seek Him, study the Word, pour out our hearts in prayer. I couldn’t agree more. This flies right in the face of preacher/pastor worship (that I honestly find confusing). It reminds us that God calls the weak. He uses us all. Even two weeks before weddings on the opposite side of the country. I know where the glory goes.
Paul explains it well, (resist the eye-glaze…all the words are important 🙂
“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””
1 Corinthians 26-30, ESV, emphasis mine.
If you’d like to listen to what God put on my heart for that whirlwind of a weekend, you can listen here.
hi there, fellow sapling 