we got snow...

I think everybody in the GTA's been waiting for snow since New Years....

Now we have a LITTLE bit of snow now.

If you look way back in this picture, there's a cloud of snow blowing across the field....sucks. Wouldn't want to be walking in that.

Makes me think about living in Toronto. Those hallowed halls of glass and steel make for some pretty awesome wind tunnels for whatever weather feels like blowing in off the lake.

Had some pretty resistant weather myself lately. How 'bout you?

Winter sucks for that. So does church planting.

...Pushing against the spiritual wind that blows against you as you do something you know you're suppose to do. It's not easy. Not something that should be undertaken lightly.

See, we have this wee-baby church that's exploding. And as more people come we sit in the hot tub (yes, that's where we chair our staff meetings...) and we contemplate what's going on, how things are working, what's next, and try to remember people's names. And all the while we are amazed at what's happening in our midst.

It's a little exhilarating, a little terrifying, and a lot glorious.

But it comes at a cost. Spiritual resistance. We leave behind those things we treasure, jobs, dreams that are stable, for things that are unstable; security, success (whatever that means). We gamble with our own histories because we believe this is what we're called to do.

Problem is when we leave security behind and we pick up insecurity (for the sake of the Gospel) we take on a ton of other stuff. Stress, anxiety, hope (which can bode both ways), fear, doubt.

This resistance can go two ways. It can either be the ice you slip on, sending you skidding backwards, or it can be the grit you push against, driving you harder against the wind so you get somewhere.

We're gon'a choose the grit.

So if you're facing spiritual resistance right now, put your face into the wind, plant your feet firmly on the ground, realize that the ice under your feet is actually grit and get to the place where you're suppose to go...May not get easier for a while, but you'll get stronger to push against the wind and the ice. And you're feet will get more acclimatized toward pushing against the wind.

And one day you'll realize the wind doesn't blow so hard any more. Then you'll realize that you're further than you thought, 'cause the wind eased off and you kept pushin' hard. Then you'll realize that you've been running with all you've got for a while, 'cause you've had little resistance and strong legs.

Then you'll run like you've never run before, 'cause your so strong from comin' though the storm.

Lets face the storm, my friends.

M.