I just want to pray that God gives Birch Bay Ranch its land
and assets so it can continue to run as a successful, life-changing ministry.
So, that was my prayer.
On August 27th I had a meeting at the church with Pastor
Bob. I was going to ask if the land and
assets that were donated to the church almost 50 years ago, could just remain in the
possession of the Birch Bay Ranch Association.
I had the meeting and on behalf of hundreds of supporters, I asked that.
I must have asked thirty people to pray for that
meeting. All but one said they would
pray for God’s will to be done, whatever that might be.
A person who serves in ministry in a leadership role surprised
me with her response to my request for prayer support. After meeting with Pastor Bob I saw an email
from her that said, “I prayed for your meeting.
I was praying he was changing his mind and that the Spirit would speak
to him while you were speaking. Good for
you to share your heart.”
As God’s children, are we not allowed to humbly bow before
Him and pray for something we love? To
pray for something we believe in? To
pray for something we just want?
Sometimes I think we get so caught up in discerning God’s
will that we completely forget that God gave us free will too. It is a gift from Him. People are shy to take action on things that
matter to them because they want to hear from God, they need a sign, they want
to make sure they are fulfilling God’s will.
I can’t help wonder why we are not taking this gift of choice, and the
other gifts and talents He’s given us, and putting our faith to action. James 2:14-26.
It is by their God given free will that the church is
deciding to disassociate from Birch Bay Ranch.
It is by their God given free will, and their legal right, to do
whatever they want with this land as it was given to them. In the same way, we have the God given free
will and the option to do what we can to help Birch Bay Ranch continue to
thrive as a ministry. We all have
choices.
Sam McCaughey donated this land to be a summer camp where
children can experience positive life change in a nurturing environment and
learn about a relationship with Jesus Christ.
He made that choice, and I believe that he was fulfilling God’s will
when he did that. As a result of
McCaughey’s decision, THOUSANDS of people have been positively impacted at
Birch Bay Ranch.
We came to this place as children. We learned about Jesus and grew into men and
women of God. We learned how to share our
faith, to be strong communicators, to work together, to support and lift each
other up, to act with conviction and integrity, and to become leaders. We developed a fiery passion for the ministry
that was and is Birch Bay Ranch. I can’t
help but think that God’s will might have included giving us all of these
skills, equipping us with these tools and with this passion so that one day
when Birch Bay Ranch is faced with adversary, that we might PICK UP THE TOOLS
AND USE THEM.
Remember that feeling you got when you climbed the wood wall
for the first time. When you smacked
that cowbell and looked down at the staff member on the belay line, and the
crowd of kids by the fence, to confirm your amazing accomplishment. YOU DID IT!
For so many of us these obstacles taught us how to overcome challenges
and to gain self confidence. Birch Bay Ranch
teaches us that when you slip on a climbing wall hold, the best thing you can
do is stop, take a long look around, find better footing, and keep climbing to
the top. If we didn’t have ropes, harnesses, arms or legs, we would
never be able to climb to the top. Thankfully, God
gave us all of those things.
Maybe we will never understand God's will, how it related to our own free will, and how we can or should put our faith to action. I just wanted to put it out there and ask....what do you think?
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