he who began a good work in you…

I am excited to share with you something awesome that happened to me recently!

After taking ministry prep classes for over 8 years, this past Friday I was ordained as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene! Aside from my wedding day and the birth of my two daughters, it was absolutely the most joyous night of my life!

I told my husband I felt like I was getting married all over again- married to the church! There was a special Ordination Service held this past Friday evening, and there were 8 other ministers from Virginia that also got ordained.

My husband and daughters were there, and several other family members, and lots of people from my church made the trip to come to the service. Then during our fellowship time at church yesterday, they had a lovely reception to celebrate.

As I listened to the sermon during the Ordination Service, the Lord confirmed in my spirit once again that His timing is perfect and I am exactly where He wants me to be. The pastor made many references to the word “green” and “green grass” in his message that night. I know it sounds a little strange- but the Lord used the word “green” to spark something in me about 10 years ago…

I hid it well from people, but inside I was miserable- desperate for something to change. I made every excuse I could why I wasn’t happy… but what really needed to change was ME!

I wasn’t very involved in church back then- I didn’t even sing during the services. But there was this one song that one of the college students would occasionally lead us to sing during worship that I liked. It had a melancholy tune, vaguely reminiscent of a Simon and Garfunkel song.

As the months passed, I had forgotten about that song. But the Lord brought it to my mind one Sunday afternoon. I couldn’t remember the tune or any of the words to save my life! It was driving me nuts!

And then out of the blue- I remembered one word-

green

I called my husband, who happened to be working that afternoon- and I asked him if he could remember “the song”… you know it, babe- it’s the one that sounds like a Simon and Garfunkel song? It’s got the word green in it somewhere! It’s THAT song!

Yes, he remembered it, but like me- he could not remember the tune or any lyrics. But sure enough, that evening, he remembered some of the lyrics- enough to google them, and find out what the song was. He emailed me the words and immediately the tune came to mind.

I can’t explain it any other way- I was COMPELLED to sit at my piano and play that song. Over and over. Every time I walked past the piano, I’d sit and play and sing it. In fact, that “green” song was the first worship song I ever played without having any sheet music to go by.

And then one morning, I sat on my old piano bench, and I remember my youngest daughter was crawling around on the floor in the next room. I began to play this song that I had been compelled to play for weeks on end… and for the first time, I tried to sing and nothing came out. Tears flowed down my face as I realized all this time I had spent searching for the words of this song- I had been searching for Him. And these words I was compelled to sing- He was doing that for me all along, and had already done this for me… He was simply waiting for me to see it. You know that saying “fake it ’till you make it”? After all that time of singing praises- finally in that instant, empty words were brought to life in my heart, and His presence was so real.

He was already with me…I had been blind, but praise God- that was the day that for the first time- I could see!

And my response? Total consecration of my life! On that day, I promised Him I would do anything He asked of me.

My call to ministry began with the Lord giving me the word “green”…. and every time I heard the preacher during the Ordination Service Friday evening mention the word “green” over and over, He reaffirmed in my heart once again that I am exactly where He wants me.

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever. Psalm 30

And in case you are curious, here’s a link to the “green” song-“You Have Redeemed My Soul” by Waterdeep-

https://soundcloud.com/julrayhar/you-have-redeemd-my-soul

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ-

Philippians 1:6