one more year

Recently I have been struggling with Crossroads’ future.
We’ve been working here for three years, and yet we are struggling financially, and our weekly attendance is slowly going down, and there are still few kids coming to our Sunday morning KidZone…
And yet we are a part of some amazing opportunities in the school where we meet – Gym Nights, Family Fun Day, Healthy Snacks, volunteering, supporting struggling families, hosting Serve – we are definitely fulfilling our ministry goal of blessing the students, staff and families of Bolton C. Falby Public School.
As we head into another ‘partnership campaign’ where we invite people to commit and invest in our mission and vision, do I have the hope and strength to persevere for another year?
Last month I was drifting towards a negative answer, when God spoke to me loud and clear.

I had been out for a late night walk, venting with the Lord about how I could not do it for another year.
The next morning, the assigned Bible reading from my devotional book was Luke 13.
“A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” [Luke 13:6-8].
Three years, no fruit, one more year!
This passage speaks primarily to God’s long-suffering patience and perseverance with His followers, working graciously in their lives to produce the good lives He saved them for.
But that morning, I definitely heard Him saying to me, ‘keep at it one more year, I will keep digging around and fertilizing for one more year!’

My job is not to figure out what God is going to do, or how He is going to do it.
My job is to join Him in digging and fertilizing, investing myself in His ‘fig tree’ for one more year.
Yes Lord, I hear You loud and clear… I am in this for one more year!