The Evening Before

A dust cloud of emotion hung deeply in the air throughout the evening as memories exploded from those seated around the tables.  Almost as if scripted, each participant was able to place another piece of the puzzle in it's correct position. 

One man would break as he described the vivid imagery in his head recounting a time, or a season, or simply a thought that glimpsed into worlds of back story.  Another would be firm, yet no less passionate in his recount of events.  Make no mistake that all their hearts beat as one in the joyful pride of a moment they would both cherish from here forward and long to see manifested in new ways in the future.

The truth is, this should be normal.  The unfortunate reality declares this moment extraordinary.

Far exceeding the sentiment that resonated deep within the room was a comforting weight that had brought this night to fruition long before even the dreams had been initiated.  Men that had carefully walked through each detail, each spec that could make this thing fall now stood with a blazing assuredness in the decision that had been made for them before time . . . and they followed.  Amidst structural doubt and strategic confusion these men followed a Spirit that gave them a confidence beyond human measure.

And where He worked in one, He had already begun working in the body.

With far more than a year invested in this vision which culminated the next morn, this group of men and women celebrated. They celebrated three specific men, a group of elders, a body of believers, and a Holy Spirit whose decision to accomplish His goals in His timing all for His glory were beyond anything they could have asked or imagined.

The evening broke with an anticipation that this same Spirit would move on the morning that followed, that He who began a good work, 30 plus years before, would continue it in ways that had been made for them before time.

There was no doubt the glory was God's.

This is my account that began an incredible weekend of Christ working through men to accomplish His plan.  To have been a part of this was an amazing honor that I will cherish for long to come and look back on as an example of men following the Spirits leadings.