Tuesday, January 27, 2009

My Broken Furnace.....

As I sit in my office this morning, I'm a little overwhelmed at what lies ahead today. Overwhelmed, but also anticipating what this day may look like when I see it from the other end late tonight.

In addition to our normal (if you can call any day around here "normal"!)responsibilities today, God is opening a door of opportunity that began a week after we closed on the Skipstone property in January of 2008.

Just as we got the year-long process of negotiating and purchasing the property done, and were finally able to say that the property was "ours", one of the three main heating units in the dining hall died a horrible death. I remember thinking "great....seven days after we buy it, and the place starts falling apart!". It never occurred to me in that moment that God had a plan to use that old broken furnace to teach me an important lesson.

As I was in the office late the next night, waiting on the HVAC guys to come assess the damage, I remember whining to God about why this was happening now, praying that it would be a simple and cheap fix, and pretty much thinking about how much the whole process was inconveniencing me! After all, it was 9:00pm and I'm still at work, waiting on these guys, and blah, blah, blah, etc.

Meanwhile, across the office in the other desk was my amazing, patient, Godly wife, who was completely ignoring my ranting and whining, and instead was praying through and researching grant opportunities for Skipstone.

When the HVAC guys finally arrived, the boss came into our office. While I explained what was going on with the blown up heating unit, Shondi continued working on the grant research. When I finished my sob story to the boss man, he turned to Shondi and asked what she was doing. I remember thinking to myself "it doesn't matter what she's doing, you need to be under the dining hall fixing the broken heater!".

Shondi knew what I was thinking, quickly gave me "the look" (you know what I mean) and proceeded to engage in a rather lengthy conversation about the grant opportunities she was researching and about the vision God had given us. Meanwhile, I was pouting because it was bedtime and the furnace hadn't even been looked at yet. I was wondering if the service call was by the hour and if we would have to pay these guys for standing around talking about grants and foundations!

Without going into all of the details, it turned out that the broken furnace that cold night in January, and the HVAC guys being more interested in talking about grants and foundations than fixing "my" problem, turned out to be the launching pad for a relationship with a foundation that has pledged nearly a million dollars to help us complete the capital improvements here at Skipstone (which includes a new furnace for the dining hall incidentally!).

The problem that I thought was so big at the beginning of the day, has turned out to be the best problem we've ever had. God chose to work in ways we could not see or understand. He used circumstances and worked through people we never expected.

We do not yet know the end result of what was started that day, but an amazing friendship and relationship with the people of the foundation, that was birthed through a broken furnace, has brought us to yet another unexpected opportunity today.

In just a little while, Shondi and I will be leaving for a meeting with the leaders of the foundation, and one of my heroes of ministry, Dr. Charles Stanley. Dr. Stanley is a member of the Board Of Directors for the foundation. We have been invited to meet with him today to share the vision that God has given us for Skipstone. I must admit, I am a little anxious, not so much nervous, but a little intimidated and a LOT overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by God's graciousness towards me when I'm so undeserving. I'm overwhelmed by His unmerited favor on me and on this ministry!

To be honest, I often feel guilty that God is so good to us. Yes we have problems, yes we struggle to keep our priorities in order, yes we struggle to balance our call to walk with Jesus daily with our call to the ministry of Skipstone, but in spite of our weaknesses, God continues to show himself strong. His mercies are new EVERY morning!

I don't know what you might be facing today....failing health, job insecurities, a marriage or relationship in trouble, or perhaps even a broken furnace. Whatever it is, I pray that you won't be so focused on the beginning that you can't see the end. I bet God will use some people and circumstances in ways you never expected to bring you to the place HE wants you to be, regardless of the outcome.

Thank you Jesus for loving me in spite of me and thank you for my broken furnace!

Whatever It Takes,
Chip Moody

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome!! Know I have stopped and prayed for todays meeting..

Unknown said...

Thank you for sharing an inspiring story! That broken furnace of yours was a blessing in disguise after all. Anyway, to retain an operable furnace, you must check for dust or dirt around the thermostat, check the circuit breaker. Then, examine the duct work for signs of cracking joints. This way, you won’t encounter the same problems in the future. It’s really a great thing that you completed the capital investments at Skiptsone!


Naoki Dieter

Darryl Iorio said...

I think fate works in mysterious ways. The broken furnace led the way to make all things possible for you. At that time, you think that the situation was irritating and frustrating. But looking back, you can just laugh at your reaction and tell yourself, “Yes, it’s just how destiny works.” [Darryl Iorio]