When Eric and I first stepped into full-time ministry, I was completely unprepared for the spiritual attacks that hit us full force. Financial difficulties, false accusation, health problems, discouragement, and exhaustion became a normal part of our lives.
At first glance, his life seemed like a dismal failure — his untimely death a senseless waste. Robert Jermain Thomas was a strong, well-educated, talented young man who left for the mission field in China with his wife in 1863.
My fingers glided over the small, wooden jewelry box, tracing the cluster of painted florals that graced the top. I noticed one of the hinges was broken, but that didn’t stop me from gingerly lifting the lid to peek inside to see what treasures lay within.
The late afternoon sun shone joyfully as I hovered over my garden starter trays, seeds cradled in the palm of my hand. It was one of those birth-of-spring days when summer-lovers like me are unwittingly taken by daydreams of summertime dancing through our minds, seemingly gaining momentum with each passing glitter of sunlight.
The joys of learning that Leslie was pregnant for the second time came as such a beautiful and profound encouragement in the latter months of 2006.
In the midst of a season of strange attack upon our lives, this joy-filled news was a shot of pure spiritual adrenaline into Barracks 28.
Leslie and I fell in love around a Bible, a piano, and the vision for Ellerslie Discipleship Training. The vision for Ellerslie originated even before the two of us exchanged our vows. It has been a deep part of our lives together — a stirring that never left us throughout all those years leading up to the day we launched it.