a tree cut off; a tree alive

in our back garden stands a great big old tree stump that tells the sad story of not being wanted anymore where it was planted - not by its own will, but my the one who planted it. For at least six months this tree stump stood there, a sad testimony of the whimsical nature of humanity. Now however, this stump is sprouting new leaves and branches, testifying to a power far greater than that of mankind the power of hope in hopelessness. The power of the true light that shines in the darkness: the power of Christ.

Today the "tree of my ministry" is being cut of as the powers that be announced to the congregations that I have served for the last two years that i will be discontinued as a minister in this church. Like the stump in our back garden, it is a sad testimony of the nature of humanity, speaking of hopelessness and pain, of not being wanted anymore where i was planted (not by my own will but by the hand of Him who planted me) - disregarding years of faithful service and growth. However, this 'stump of my ministry' that remains is a testimony to much more. It is a testimony of hope in hopelessness, a testimony to the light of Christ that changes and saves - regardless of pain, darkness and fear.

Today, i stand not because i am proud, but because i know that i serve a God of new beginnings, a God of love and hope . A God who is there in our times of darkness. Today i proclaim boldly:
God is life!