"When asked the secret of his success, William Carey said that it was because he was a good plodder. In his own words he said, 'Anything beyond this will be too much. I can plod. That is my genius. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.'"-Richard E. Simmons III, "A life of excellence"
Four months at Restoration Academy have come and gone, and I love that quote a little bit more everyday. Plodding is not usually how we describe successful people, but in a ministry like this, it's the only way to travel. Plodders get up every morning no matter what happened the day before. Plodders pray like they expect (and desperately need!) God to move in their life no matter if they saw Him move or not yesterday. Plodders love the kids even when the kids don't love them. Plodders read and teach the word even if it seems no one is listening or has listened all week. Plodders discipline. Plodders share the Gospel. Plodders endure.
I am not yet a William Carey level plodder, but I long to be. I think of my 8th grade students. Right now, we read 2 chapters of the Bible a day, and I make them memorize 2 verses a week. If all you look at is one day or one week, that doesn't seem like much. But if you were to zoom out a year, you would see 360 chapters of God's precious word read, and you would see 75 some odd verses memorized. Zoom out a few more years, and if the Lord leaves me at Restoration, these students will spend several hundred hours in God's word reading it and memorizing it. This is God's word-the one that DOES NOT (and CANNOT and WILL NOT) return void. How do I make this happen in the lives of these kids? By plodding along, one day at a time.
How can I become a William Carey level plodder? I had been pondering that question for awhile, and the Lord sent the answer via an "Ask Pastor John" podcast. The question posed to Pastor John was, "How do I endure in ministry?" The answer was simple-ask God to let you. Go read John 14:13-14. Jesus says to us, "Ask me for anything in my name! Go ahead-ask away! I'll do it so that my Father may be glorified!" I want the Father to be glorified in the way I endure and plod along at Restoration, and I want you all to join me in praying for me, in the name of Jesus Christ, to endure. Have no doubt, my friends-I expect the Lord to give explosive growth at Restoration one day, and I hope that I am there to see it. It's just that, with very few exceptions, as we look back at the history of the church, what leads up to periods of explosive growth? It's really simple: a group of people faithfully plodding along and crying out to God to let them endure faithfully until he sends in the harvest. I want to be one of those people, and I need your prayers to get there.
Love you all!
Things I need prayer for: See above!
Students to pray for: KD, Jokk, and AJ
Give praise for: making it this far! Strong relationships with faculty and kids
