In seminary I learned the fine spiritual art of plodding: Make sure you are heading the right direction then put one foot in front of the other, fall down sometimes, get back up, fall down other times and lie on the ground for a while then get back up, reorientate to the correct direction and put one foot in front of the other over and over and over and over again. Get mad at God sometimes for not making the road shorter or easier, get frustrated with colleagues about stupid things, repent, be thankful for grace, reorientate, put one foot in front of the other over and over again. Plodding, it is a fine spiritual art.
For the last several years I have been plodding along working on the NGO status and shortwave license. I know that many of you are plodding along with me in your thoughts and prayers, and for that I am very grateful. Those of you who have been astute readers of my blog know the long history of the NGO status and all the various updates and requests for prayer. So today when I say: “I think we have a good way forward.” You will recognize that I said those exact same words close to a year ago.
One of the reasons I do not update you as often as I should is that many times I feel like a broken record player repeating the same prayer request over and over. This is further complicated by the fact that I cannot give you all the details so I just end up saying something like “pray for the NGO status, there are meetings about it,” when in reality cultures are colliding, there are conflicts between French and American legal systems, opposing opinions on how to move forward are debated, meetings with government officials range from very helpful to … …, well lets just say I am very thankful for the helpful government officials, other issues pull at TWR staff (myself included) and things do not happen as timely as they should.
Hence a year of plodding has brought me full circle to report the exact same words: “I think we have a good way forward.” While a year of plodding on the NGO status was not my first choice, lots has been learned, relationships tested and strengthened, ideas discussed, new relationships developed, concepts shot down, certain relationships renegotiated, action plans modified and patience developed.
Please pray that the new way forward brings the needed results. Pray that the NGO status does not come full circle again. Pray that the team and I may plod well for God’s glory.