Participating in God's work

Let me begin with a confession: when working on a vision as exciting as the Iona House vision, the constant temptation is to try to make it my project or for Elizabeth and I together, our project… to pretend to ourselves that it could be our efforts or our cleverness or our strategies that bring it about. And yet, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this project is only and ever God’s project. He is the one who has placed the dream in our hearts (starting 3 years ago in a conscious way). He has been showing us that this is a dream far bigger than we are capable of accomplishing in our own strength (which is a kind of grace, actually). God is the one who has opened the doors all along the way. We’ve already seen more than a handful of miracles which operate in our hearts as signs reminding us of what has been our mantra the past number of years in ministry (both for planting and developing Eucharist Church and now this Iona House vision) - “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). We hope and pray that this mantra will guide everything we’re doing. Our job is to prayerfully listen in order to walk in step with the Spirit and participate in what He is doing. We are but participants in God’s great project. May it be so.