Appreciating your inner-connectedness and the good that is happening in your community reminds you that both believers and unbelievers are human beings made in God’s image. It can help you to endure in ministry by growing in thankfulness for what you have where you live instead of what you don’t have.

All was silent except for the “swish, swish” of my cross-country skis through the carefully groomed tracks in the shiny snow and the occasional screech of a hawk. My elevated heart rate and the endorphin rush of using my muscles that were tired of sitting at my desk lifted my mood.

Each glide of my skis became a prayer as my heart praised God for His creation. I was surrounded by trees, snow, a frozen pond, and a brook that bubbled underneath the nearby ice.

Occasional animal tracks near the ski tracks accented my path. Things had been stressful in ministry recently, but none of that mattered now. I was able to leave it with the Lord and just praise Him.

When God called us to Vermont, I hoped that I would be able to cross-country ski someday. I had done it a couple of times and enjoyed it. I didn’t realize that our kids would soon be part of a community cross-country club similar to community soccer teams. I didn’t have any way of knowing then that my oldest son would start a nordic ski team at the local high school. I didn’t know at the time that we would all wish for more snow clear into March, hoping for a little more skiing.

Cross-country skiing has been one way that God has helped me to embrace the “place” that our small town is situated in. Over a decade ago, as we settled here and I came to love and enjoy our community, I didn’t realize how much embracing “place” would become a means of endurance in ministry.

Embrace Place by Enjoying Creation

As pastors and ministry leaders, we know that God reveals truths about Himself through creation. Romans 1:19-21 and Psalm 19:1-6 are just starting points for understanding that through creation “day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge” (Psalm 19:2). As preachers and teachers of God’s Word, we rightly place an emphasis on our study of the Book that God has given us to proclaim. Yet, we can easily fall into almost ignoring what many of the Church Fathers and Reformers called the “second book of revelation,” God’s creation. 1

When was the last time that you gave yourself time to be refreshed with a walk outside, noticing the way the trees look this time of year, or the last time you went for an evening walk during the summer to be dazzled by a firefly show in a nearby field? One of the privileges of rural ministry is that we are generally not quite as removed from God’s creation as those in city ministry.

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