"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:1-2
King's Ranch , A Home For Children In Need...A vision given to us by God in 2004. What a journey it has been. Had we known the struggles, the heartaches, the grueling paths we would walk, would we have obeyed the Lord's call? I hope so... because we would never have seen His glory the way we have or grown in our faith as we have without the struggles. It's funny how God works. He truly does refine us in the fire.
He has taught us so much through this journey. He has taught us to rely totally on Him, to be content with only His approval, to cling to Him when everything else fails. He taught us to trust His timing, to let Him be our defender, to believe Him even when circumstances don't make sense...
While we've been waiting, He's taught us about loving the unlovable, about helping them learn to trust us and Him, about heart healing...We are watching Him bind up the brokenhearted, and He is allowing us to be a part of it. What a miracle! What a privilege!
His ways are so far above our ways. The Bible says that, but we have truly experienced it these past 3 years. What we could not see all this time was a greater victory that God had in mind. He must have been saying all along the way..."Just wait and see what I am going to do. It is so much better than what you want right now." We can see now that 3 years ago, we were not ready for this mission. He knew what He was doing all along!
The Lord gave us Psalm 37 at the beginning of this journey. He confirmed the purchase of this land to us through verse 3, "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." The middle of this Psalm talks about opposition rising up...we were hoping that didn't apply to us...but as most of you know, it did! The Lord kept promising victory throughout the Psalm... and in June of this year, victory finally came. His victory! We are now rejoicing in Psalm 37: 40, "The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them...and saves them, because they take refuge in him."
We would like to thank the tireless efforts of attorney Noyl Houston from the Houston Law Firm, attorney Jim Gramling from Marshall and Owens Law Firm, and attorney Abby Southerland from The American Center for Law and Justice. They poured their heart and soul into helping King's Ranch fulfill its mission. We thank each of them for believing in the ministry of King's Ranch even amidst opposition. We know they took on our cause at great personal and professional risk. We are forever grateful and know they will be greatly blessed by the Lord! I know they join us in giving all the glory to God! We are all humbled by the awesome privilege of serving the King!
