oh, for such a time as this!

not far from the borders of vermont and new hampshire, a little massachusetts river town has been our home for the last week. we're in northfield. though small by population, it is colossally rich with stories old and new.

here dwight l. moody was born. and here in july of 1886, moody held a month-long Bible conference with over 200 students from 89 colleges and universities. that meeting birthed the student volunteer movement, which came to send out thousands upon thousands of students into foreign mission in just one generation.

while here, we get to play a privileged part - through prayer and physical labor with our campus america family - in the reviving of the old mount hermon school campus. founded by moody himself, this spectacular property was recently acquired for the establishment of c. s. lewis college. the story of how our new friends at the c. s. lewis foundation obtained this land is a miraculous one as well!

we came here to deepen our friendships with our brothers and sisters from campus america, to envision how 24-7 prayer will carry on through our colleges and universities, across our nation, and around the globe. our days have been full of song and study, good food and conversation, playing, praying, and exploring these grounds, all the while soaking in more and more of Jesus. we want his heart alone for our lives and this world. and just as in those days of moody, each one here truly believes the Spirit is weaving this july gathering into another legacy for generations to foretell . . .

how does your garden grow?

i may have inherited a green thumb from the dear gardeners in my family. i'm surely no expert, but i have learned how much effort, time, patience and carefulness it takes. and don't forget ingenuity! yet even with the best sweat, the process can be downright disappointing sometimes.

for example, take efforts thwarted by insects and other animals. you choose a tiny seed, dig in dirt and position it just so, water and watch and water some more. a small stem starts to show sweet little leaves and excitement begins to build. the care continues and the dreams of a lush garden light your whole day . . . until those leaves are chewed right down to nothing!

living life as a Kingdom servant can be likened to this. you pour yourself into others, dreaming of the beauty they could enjoy some day. you sacrifice time and share your belongings, open your heart and help carry theirs. you push yourself to give and stretch your ability to commit. then you start seeing changes in how they treat others or in the kinds of choices they make. excitement builds and it's easier to imagine healing, restored faith, a transformed family and sometimes even a holy city!

until a neighbor disappears for awhile. or one who claimed his need for change, proving grateful for support, finds it easier to stay stuck in old patterns. or a family who seemed headed toward reconciliation falls into turmoil again. or a period of peace in the neighborhood is upset by another rash of violence.

our lives are teeming with "pests" that interrupt growth. maybe it's addiction. maybe fear, or denial, selfishness, anger, greed. some we choose ourselves and others are inflicted upon us, but the list that tears and destroys is endless. when it seems no green could appear and never a blossom would show, we need to trust the Master Gardener. the One who plants life in us will continue to tend to what's begun. and recognize this: when we serve others in the love of Jesus, pour out our time in prayer for them, willingly invite them into our families and become a shining light in their midst through our faithfulness, something of life gets rooted in their hearts and in ours.

which seeds will take root for good, we may not know. just keep going back to the garden. water, prune, and address those irksome pests. and picture the garden full and vibrant one day, flowing over with beauty.