Around five years ago, sickness had taught us a lot. We sought a new way of living and moved to a farm to share all we had learned. Now healthy, I felt God calling us to open our farm to the community, not just for events, but for Christmas. However, I admit I was also afraid because we lived in an area where most people did not seek God. It was only a few weeks before Christmas when we finally decided to trust and began the preparations for a Christmas Eve service at our home.
After hours setting up the event barn with decorations, holding the tensions of eagerness and a little bit of fear, my favorite Christmas song, O Holy Night, began to play on my phone as I walked outside.
Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, till he appeared,
and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices.
Fall on your knees, oh hear the angel voices.
Already teary, I looked up and saw the most magnificent moon I have ever seen; God literally overwhelmed me by His spirit, as I fell to my knees and wept. Completely overcome with His presence, I felt God was telling me to trust in Him and this mission in our hearts. His presence offered me the most tremendous peace.
And so it was that St. Luke’s on the Farm began, and after a phenomenal Christmas and Easter, we had big dreams of the next year! Yet only 9 months later, we found ourselves surrendering that dream back into God’s hands, as we unexpectedly packed up to move again. I really wrestled and grieved this decision because I kept going back to that holy moment when He filled me with such peace. I didn’t want to misunderstand or get it wrong. And yet ultimately, because of a life filled with reminders of His presence, including that holy night, I was also able to fully trust Him. Because I knew His spirit, I was comforted by His divine sovereignty. That moment gave me a thrill of hope that shone brighter than any confusion.
Everyone can relate to the words, the weary world rejoices, from O Holy Night. Our Father knew we would need hope, and how beautiful that He sent His son so we could experience His love in our own human way. It was His presence then, and the gift of His Holy Spirit now, that allows us to know Him, and trust Him. All throughout our everyday moments, He wants to remind you, and me, that He is with us, even when we do not understand. And it is that gift of His presence that fills us with a thrill of hope, and allows us to sing in chorus, sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we, let all within us praise His holy name.
Kelly Judd, Director of The Grove, Family and Couple Ministry
