Vine and Branches Stories has been a tremendous gift from the Lord, and it has been a huge opportunity for learning and growth in the 11 months since God put this seed of an idea into my head and my heart. I would like to take a moment to reflect on some of what I have learned throughout the past 11 months as we head into the second year.
Firstly, being obedient to the Lord is full of “wow” moments. I could not believe how fast Vine and Branches Stories went from idea to fruition; God planted the seed in January, the app was up in April, and we began to share it in May of 2023. Wow!
To me, this timeline seems super fast, especially when one considers that before God gave this idea to me, I had absolutely NO idea how to do anything like what Vine and Branches Stories would require of me. God definitely directed my steps in allowing my learning to happen. He was with me throughout the entire process, and He is so good!
Secondly, even though God placed this ministry on my heart, He doesn’t NEED me to do this. He does NOT need my help getting people to share stories. There are Christian story ministries all over the country which all have this fire; throughout the Bible, the Lord isn’t just making a kind suggestion that we share about all that He is doing or has done in our lives; He is telling us that it is our duty and responsibility to do so. I could list verse after verse here, but I will just put a link at the end of this blog instead.
Although He doesn’t need me to do this ministry, He gave this ministry to me as a gift because I prayed for a project for Him. I love serving at my church, and I love doing ministry together with my family and my church friends, but I prayed for God to use me for something different. He gave Vine and Branches Stories to me and as a gift to share as a way for me to grow, to stretch, and to draw into a deeper relationship with Him as I learn to obey in a way that I have never experienced before.
Let me use a metaphor to explain how this ministry has grown, has stretched, and has taught me to trust. It has been like walking into a completely dark room with only a tiny light to guide me. That tiny light does not light up the entire room; it does not show me what is in the room or what is around me, but it leads me and guides me, and when I am supposed to meet someone, it illuminates just that person and that person’s story. I am not allowed to flip on the light switch to see beyond what that light wants me to see; I just need to trust that tiny light and to know that it is for me—it is guiding me to where I need to be (not necessarily where I always want to be).
Thirdly, I have learned to have a whole new perspective regarding how the enemy will attack people who are working to be obedient. Do not get me wrong: throughout my life, I have felt the enemy’s darts before, but this has been like nothing I have experienced in the past, and I have had to really press into the Lord to help me to not fall into the ugly patterns of my prior self because that is the way Satan wants it to be. I am NOT that person anymore. That person is no longer part of my memory foam, and I have put on new clothes; I intend to wake up every single day and to pray that I dress myself in a garment of praise (“...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” – Isaiah 61:3)
If you are reading this, please cover your pastors and church leaders in prayer regularly; after this experience, I know that they must face some extremely challenging attacks, and we all must continuously fight against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12
Finally, even with God’s help, beginning a ministry can feel a bit lonely at times. I felt this flame burning in my spirit to help people to share their stories because I know that these stories need to be shared, and I know that God gave us technology to use for such a time as this: we need to be using it for His glory.
But I began to feel like I was a record on repeat saying the same thing over and over, and while many people agreed and supported me with their encouragement, it felt like no one else was catching this fire that God had given to me. These were the words to some of my prayers during those early days: “Why, Lord? This cannot be something you want me to do alone? It’s just too much! I don’t know how to do half of this stuff, and I don’t have time to do it all. You don’t want me to spend every waking minute on this and to neglect my marriage and my family, do you? I need some help. God, please send help! I cannot do this alone.”
As it turns out, I have never been doing it alone, and as I type this, I truly see God’s faithfulness throughout this ministry journey. God did send help. He gave me Ann who graciously allows me to bounce ideas off of her, who brainstorms and prays about Vine and Branches Stories, and who listens as God gives her ideas for the ministry (she also interviews all of Vine and Branches Stories podcast guests, too). He has given me dozens of family members and dear friends who have prayed, whom have provided ideas, and whom have spoken words of encouragement over Vine and Branches Stories throughout the past year. He has provided Vine and Branches Stories with Amy who graciously volunteered to edit all of the written content. God sent me a young man named Isaac who became the Vine and Branches videographer intern. Isaac helped to get the first stories up on the app and website.
God also helped me to connect with so many other story ministries that are spread all over the country. Every time I was led to another story ministry, I was energized to see that God had placed this same fire in other people’s hearts to help people to share the reason for their hope (check some of these ministries out here: LINK). Then, the founder of one of those story ministries, Todd from The 315 Project, said he would work with me and would mentor me as God was leading me with Vine and Branches Stories; thank you, Lord!
At the exact time when Isaac was going off to college, God sent more help; He sent Greg. Greg has an interest and background in videography, and he has a desire to help people share their stories. Then, my friend, Aleah, and I had breakfast the other day, and she texted me shortly after our meeting saying that she would love to work with Vine and Branches Stories; God gave her a fire for this ministry, too. Wow! I am excited to pray with Aleah and to dream about the future of Vine and Branches Stories together. I see God’s help in all of these people.
When we are in the day-to-day grind of trying to do things in our own strength, things can become overwhelming, frustrating, and downright lonely at times. Now, as I take a step back to look at the big picture, I see that when I allow God to have control, of course things will turn out as they should. Afterall, God’s handiwork is perfect; it’s perfect in His creation of the world and everything in the world; it’s perfect in the hope and goodness that He reveals through each of our stories, and it is even perfect when it comes to the creation of an app and website which helps people to share those stories.
I have been praying for a team because that’s what I thought I needed. I continuously said, God, please send help! However, now, as I reflect upon the past year, I can now see that He was telling me: “Stacey, I already have.”
Thank you, Lord, for providing for my needs before I recognized that You had done so.
