God sent us an amazing work team last week, and He accomplished so much through them in the four days they were with us! As I reflect back on the week and remember names and faces and the Spirit that moved among us, I am reminded of a song called How Beautiful by Twila Paris. It talks about the body of Christ and we experienced His body working together in a special way during the week. Here is one of the lyrics from the song; I would like to dedicate it to the Indy team:
How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful....is the body of Christ
It was a week of long days, hard work, energy, and excitement. And there was time for fun, too! We finished exhausted, but it was so worth it. We were tremendously blessed and pray that the team was even more blessed. We love them dearly.
Here are some of the blessings they left behind.
Six brand new picnic tables
Fresh stalls
Weeded flower beds
Old hay moved out to make room for new, then transported, and shared with friends
A lot of junk and trash cleaned out in and behind the storage hangars
New borders dug around our beautiful fountain....
...and expertly landscaped!
Part of the arena fencing and wheelchair ramp were torn out and revamped (Before)
And after!
The tall posts are for shade to eventually be erected over the ramp
A new door and new paint for the base of the barn
And lots and lots of painted fence!
The team was also able to watch some of our riding sessions, interact with the people, and experience the heart of why we do what we do. Here are some of the kids and adults from the Transitions school.
Petting Glorie
Jessica
Caleb
Josh
Making new friends
At the end of the week, I took a walk around the ranch to look at everything that had been done, and I was thinking about how easy it is for us, for me, to think that what we are doing is less important than what that person over there is doing. We fall into comparison and competition and forget Who we are serving. The thought struck me that everything done here this week was the work of God. This is His ranch. Everything we accomplished was part of His purpose for the ranch. He gave us beautiful, dry weather every day so we could work outside. Every gift that was shared by each unique individual was really a gift from God and an expression of Him through every person. He created each of us with different gifts to be used in different ways, but all to His glory. He could have made me to express Him in the way someone else does, but He is a Creator, and all His masterpieces are originals! What kind of world would it be if we were all clones? So God chooses the design, the gifts, the accomplishments, but it all goes to His glory and we get to be a part of that! We are so incredibly privileged to be included in His work here at His ranch. All the credit goes to Jesus, so there is no room for competition in His body. May we become less, and Jesus Christ become ever greater in our lives!
Thank you, Team Indy!
And thank You, Jesus, our Lord and Savior and our Life!
