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Recently I had a dream in which I was participating in a
local talent show. My “talent” was a gymnastics act on the uneven bars,
something I have never done in real life, and not something I would be likely
to do well starting this late in life.
A small crowd had assembled in a meeting hall, and I was
next up. My mother (who passed away 25 years ago) was in the audience. Just
before I was to start, she asked, “Did you ever check to see what grade you got
on your final history test in the 10th grade?”
Startled by the inappropriate question, I mumbled
incoherently that we would discuss it later. As I looked down at the uneven
bars and tried to concentrate, I became distracted by looking down at my shoes.
They were heavy, ugly, black, too large, and on the wrong foot!
But it would be difficult to remove these in time, as the
music was about to start! Thankfully, my husband had trouble getting the track
to play, and I used that time to slip out of these monstrosities that would no
doubt weigh down my performance. The dream ended and I awakened before I ever
had the opportunity to test my skills, or lack thereof, at gymnastics.
The next day my husband and I met with someone whom we had
hoped might be helpful to our new church plant, New Life Bible Church Tampa.
Much to my dismay, he was wearing shoes similar to those that had weighed me
down in the dream, and his foot position while walking made it appear that his
shoes were on the wrong foot! I took this as a confirmation of other
indications that he would not be a good fit for our ministry, which proved
accurate.
A few nights later, I again had a dream about shoes. This
time my husband and I were to perform a ballroom dance in the American Smooth
style. I was dressed and thought I was ready, until I realized that I hadn’t
yet put on my dance shoes, and we were up next. In a panic, I rummaged through
my duffel bag, retrieving every pair of shoes but the right one. I found hiking shoes, sneakers, ballet slippers, but no closed-toe high-heeled pumps needed
for this type of dance.
As I awoke in a sweat and pondered the meaning of the
dreams, the uneven bars in the first dream likely represent the challenges of
life, particularly of a new ministry, that may upset our balance. Just as I
have never been trained in gymnastics, I have no hands-on experience in church
planting. And yet my years of dance training, particularly in partnership dancing involving overhead lifts, would be a solid foundation for learning
gymnastics, should I so desire (Spoiler Alert: I don’t!).
Similarly, although my husband are led to plant a church,
which we have never done before, in this later season of life, we can see the
hand of God in how He prepared us with relevant experience, training, and
resources to accomplish this mission through His grace, provision, power and
wisdom (Philippians 4:19). Without Him, we can do nothing (John
15:5), but with Him, all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26).
His grace is sufficient, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2
Corinthians 12:9).
My mother’s strange question in the dream, about whether I
had ever checked the grade I received in my final history exam in the 10th
grade, may be a reminder to remember and learn from our personal history from
long ago (Psalm 100:5; Deuteronomy 7:9). When we look back,
we can see how God has shaped and molded us according to the plan He has had
for us since before the beginning of time (Jeremiah 29:11; 33:3;
Ephesians 2:10).
Years of Bible study and teaching, faithfully listening to
God’s Word, supporting missions, writing this blog, serving in churches in music and in other ministries are all clearly helpful for church planting, and
we thank God for this experience. Less obvious advantages are the skills and
opportunities he gave Richard and me in building maintenance, public speaking,
administration, writing, online communications, and even hosting parties,
graphic arts design, interior decorating, and flower arranging!
Yet there are challenges and obstacles in any new endeavor.
The clunky shoes in the first dream reminded me of the admonition to remove the
weights that can so easily encumber us as we run the race that God has set
before us (Hebrews 12:1-2). While overt, unconfessed sin can
destroy any ministry, as it removes us from fellowship with God, Who is our
power source, unrelinquished weights can also throw us off course (Isaiah
59:2).
The demands of church planting constantly remind me to keep
my eyes on Jesus, Who alone can direct our paths to accomplish His will (Proverbs
3:5-6). Other interests and trivial pursuits, while not evil in
themselves, can become a distraction or weight that keeps us from optimal
fruitfulness. Ugly shoes would detract from a polished gymnastics routine, and
the extra weight could result in slower speed, a misstep or even a fall. The
darkness of sin would ruin our testimony, and meaningless pursuits, even idle chatter, could sap valuable energy and time from the ministry God has appointed
to us (Matthew 12:36).
In the first dream, my shoes were on the wrong foot, and in
the second dream, I could find no suitable shoes at all. While different forms
of sport and dance each demand a different type of footwear for optimal
performance, Scripture tells us to put on the same footwear daily, along with
the rest of the armor of God. We are to have our feet shod with the preparation
of the Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).
What is that Gospel? That Jesus, Son of God and God
Himself, was crucified, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day, so
that all who trust Him would have eternal life. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4;
John 3:16).
No matter what specific ministry God has entrusted to us,
we should prepare for it daily by remembering why we are here – to stand firmly
on the foundation of the Gospel, which protects us from the thorns of sin and
evil that would otherwise pierce us in our most vulnerable areas, represented
by the feet. It is the Gospel of peace that reconciles sinful man to Holy God (2
Corinthians 5:18), and it is our mission to spread that Gospel wherever
God’s path leads us (Matthew 28:19-20).
Jesus told His disciples to take only the bare minimum of
clothing, one staff, no bread or money, and to be shod only with one pair of sandals
as they spread His Word from village to village (Luke 10:4; Mark 6:8).
Truly, having our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace is the
only footwear His ambassadors will ever need!
(2 Corinthians 5:20).
Because of that footwear, “How beautiful upon the
mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that
saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isaiah 52:7).
May we always have our feet shod with the Gospel of the
preparation of peace and walk or run with that truth to share it wherever God leads us!
