Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] So I'm gonna. I have the honor this morning to preach and to talk to you. I don't really want to call preaching, it's more like a little talk. And as we have heard a lot today, we're talking about the way of the wildflower and it was actually passed on by our associate pastor Amy. And she spoke so beautifully on Mother's Day. If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend watching it back on YouTube.
[00:00:30] She's very inspiring. Their story is very inspiring as well. So it's been really, yeah, really nice for me to kind of build onto that.
[00:00:40] So the way of the Wildflower, we have kind of all inspired it by the book that Pam won.
[00:00:48] And if you want to know the book and you want to order it, just let us know.
[00:00:52] Some of us in our team have it and it's been real blessing to read through that.
[00:00:58] So I mean, I'm going to. Can I just get a couple of minutes to share some thoughts about that?
[00:01:03] So a way of a wildflower doesn't bloom because its conditions are perfect. We kind of have touched on that a couple of times this morning.
[00:01:13] It blooms because it was designed to.
[00:01:16] And every design has a creator.
[00:01:20] And we can see in Genesis 1, verse 11, the Creator of the wildflower, our God.
[00:01:27] It says, then the Lord let the land produce vegetation, seed bearing plants, wild flowers and trees on the land that bear fruit and seeds in it according to their various.
[00:01:44] Their various kinds. And so it was.
[00:01:48] The way of the wildflower is the way of trusting in God.
[00:01:55] Let's pray. Father God, I just thank you for this opportunity that we have this morning together. Father. I just pray that we are all unique. We are all various kinds, Father, but you have created us so beautifully. Father, I just pray that you will speak into our hearts, Father, that you will open our ears. Father God. And I just pray that this word will be a blessing to those that are hearing it. Father God, I pray in Jesus name, Amen.
[00:02:26] Amen.
[00:02:27] So for those who don't know me, my name is Rachelle Clark.
[00:02:34] We are quite a multicultural church because we had Amy from New Zealand.
[00:02:39] And if you don't know me and you're wondering where my accent is from, I am Dutch and I'm married to the beautiful Matt. And we have together a little boy called Joah, which is really a miracle baby. And every time I look him in the eye, if he is the sweetest boy or the naughtiest boy, he reminds me of God's faithfulness because our journey hasn't been Easy for that. And as you can tell, this is not just a croissant, although it is also a little bit. I do have to say I eat a lot of things and I just hide it because I'm pregnant.
[00:03:21] So it's a good reason. And no, I'm not about to give birth today or next week. I still have to go up till July.
[00:03:29] So I have still kind of a journey ahead of me.
[00:03:32] But I'm so grateful and I'm so proud and I carry it with all joy.
[00:03:41] But all of that almost didn't happen.
[00:03:44] You see, 13 years ago, I felt that God spoke to me to go to Australia.
[00:03:52] And I was this Dutch girl and I could not speak any English.
[00:03:57] We do listen to English music and I would sing along and my friends would just think that I was speaking in tongues because I was not hitting one word right. My English was bad.
[00:04:10] So when I was talking to my friends to say, and my family, I want to go to Australia, I going to do a Bible college.
[00:04:21] Yeah, that was not. That didn't went well because they were so worried about me going to the other side of the world in a country where I cannot even ask where the toilet is.
[00:04:33] So you see, but what also happened with that was those little worries that came absolutely out of a really lovely place. They loved me. They were just worried. But I started to get those seeds and those words and let them grow into my heart.
[00:04:54] So although my dad, who is very loud and was like, you go, girl. You go to the Bible college, you're off the street.
[00:05:03] Yes, go for it.
[00:05:06] I started to kind of believe that that became who I was.
[00:05:10] I was for Shell that couldn't really speak any English.
[00:05:13] So going to a country. I was starting to feel very quiet and hesitant about the decision that I made to go.
[00:05:24] You know, what we're saying matters, it matters. And the seeds that we allow to grow in our hearts.
[00:05:32] It was what Linda also said this morning so beautifully. I felt like a lot of things that we're sharing. I'm going to touch on a little bit because, you know, what is that? It's the beliefs, what we are speaking over ourselves that matters. Proverbs 1, 18:21. It said, Death and life are in the power of the tongue.
[00:05:52] And those who love it will its fruits. So it matters. It matters what we say about others. It matters what we say about ourselves.
[00:06:02] I feel like. And maybe I'm the only one, please tell me. But we set expectations. I have a hidden talent to set an expectation so high for myself. And then When I am not reaching it, I am so harsh. And I can talk myself down, and I can then go back to untruthfulness that I am believing in and speaking those untruthfulness over myself. See, I know I can't do it. I'm not good enough. Why would they actually understand if I am preaching what I'm saying? Like, I'm not. Why are you actually doing it and believing and allowing those seeds to grow, but they're not there to grow.
[00:06:47] You know, it matters what we say about ourselves, and it matters what we say about others, but it also matters what we say about church. You know, sometimes we come in and we're so critical about the music or the tea is too hot or the coffees too weak or too strong.
[00:07:08] This was not good. This was not good.
[00:07:10] Those are all seeds and they're all powers. It's what we're sowing into our church.
[00:07:17] It matters what we say about God.
[00:07:20] You know, sometimes we come from a place where we have been hurt by our experience and we feel that God doesn't love us, or God is not good. I'm not good enough for God. God will not use me. And we can say things about, I need to earn your love, God, and I'm not good enough. Just don't worry about me. But that's an untruthfulness, and it's not a good seed to sow.
[00:07:46] So we need to be wary about our thoughts and the things that we are sowing, the seeds that we are sowing.
[00:07:53] You know, in 2 Corinthians 9, 6, it says, remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.
[00:08:03] And whoever sows generously will also reap generously. And often we use this verse in church to encourage one another to give with our tidings. And it's a beautiful thing that we are enabling each other to do that. But generosity is not just our money. Generosity is also. What are we going to say with our words?
[00:08:26] Am I gonna be generous with my time? It was another thing that we did on the mentee that reminded me of the word that I prepared that, you know, we are in a time, and I am so guilty of this, where we're so busy. We're so busy that we kind of missing that we can have that quality time. And it's so important. And that is why God created us all. And that we don't live in a time space where it's just me, I being born in a world with community. And we are here to be there. For one another. So it's important that we make that time.
[00:09:04] And we cannot be best friends and have very deep conversations with everyone, you know, but we can acknowledge one another. You know, a smile is free.
[00:09:17] I sometimes think about all the homeless people in Exeter, and I feel always very hopeless about how to help them.
[00:09:26] Is it helpful if I give them a dollar, a pound or my food? And when I had Joanne, I had always some spare food. I tried to hand that out. But you know what? Sometimes it's just putting value on them to just acknowledge them and see and smell. You don't know how people wake up, and maybe it's sometimes just somebody that sees them that they feel valued.
[00:09:57] So my next point, sowing in the hidden.
[00:10:02] You know, sowing seeds happens under the ground, and it's important that we sow it in the right environment.
[00:10:11] If we don't sow our seeds in the right environment, it either will not come up or it's going to become unhealthy.
[00:10:19] It requires some.
[00:10:22] What else?
[00:10:26] Yes, and soil.
[00:10:29] So we understand what the right environment is for a seed to grow. We understand that if we just leave it in a package, it will not grow.
[00:10:39] You know, what's your environment you're planting yourself in?
[00:10:43] Are you in an environment that gives you the sun, the soil, the rain? Is it an environment where the people around you believe in what God is putting on your heart?
[00:10:58] Can you become hopeful and happy if you think about your future?
[00:11:03] You know, maybe some of us, we have those seeds and those disbeliefs let go, grew in our hearts, and we felt called to something, but never actually have stepped out in it because we felt we were not good enough. You know, you still have air in your lungs and you still have time. God still have a purpose for your life, and it's not too late. And that's what we want to do as well here. We want to create the right environment so that we can feed you, that you can feel flourish in whatever God is calling you. We want to speak words of life over you so that you can bury that fruit.
[00:11:48] Psalms. I need to say this, right? I always say Psalms. This is just a little bit of feedback for you. English There is a P in there, okay? I always say Psalms. My husband tells me off. And then I'm like, but why are you writing that P?
[00:12:05] But I've been practicing Psalms 1, verse 3. It said, he's like a tree planted beside a flowing stream.
[00:12:14] And this verse describes.
[00:12:18] Is a description of a blessed person, somebody that really meditated into the word. And it is an illustration. And I love the illustration, actually on my slide, really, from the tree with the calm rivers, it chooses its location, and it chooses location quite well.
[00:12:41] And it reflects somebody that is spiritual, healthy, robust, and successful.
[00:12:50] You know, before there is a big bloom and something flowers beautifully, it must have deep fruits. So. So it's important that we make sure that the environment we are choosing allow us to grow strong roots, because the world is really difficult.
[00:13:09] So we need to make sure that when we are blooming that we're blooming where we were planted.
[00:13:15] We touched on it earlier as well. I think Amy did. When wildflowers are not choosing their locations, they are not choosing where they are growing, but they still bloom.
[00:13:26] And, you know, it's sometimes not the location you want to be in. Like Linda was saying, like, she had a desire and she had a vision for her life to become married, and that didn't happen.
[00:13:40] You know what? She could have chosen a way that maybe leads her to unhappiness. But now she has chosen the right direction, and sitting here, we can learn from her story about God's fear, faithfulness, trusting in God.
[00:13:56] You know, maybe you're waiting for a partner, or you're maybe finding yourself single. You're maybe fighting your health or you're grieving someone. It's not something that we are choosing to happen to us in life, but it is something that we can still trust God with.
[00:14:15] I know for me, I'm standing here obviously carrying a baby. But that was not an easy journey for us. We had a.
[00:14:23] We had to wait a long, long, long time.
[00:14:27] But you know what? God is faithful.
[00:14:30] Although life is hard, he is faithful. God has plans for us to Prosper. In Jeremiah 29:11, it says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.
[00:14:51] And I know when I was going through my journey, and I wishes to have another child. After we had Joah, whoop. And we waited for Joa a long time, many years, and we prayed, and it was really, really difficult. But then I know our lead, Pastor Mark, he had, like, I think a year ago or maybe even longer, I don't know, maybe you guys remember, he spoke about salvation, and it was something that really unlocked a bit of freedom because he said, you know what? If you can peel everything away, it's salvation. And I started to get a revelation about the cross and what that means, that I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and therefore I'm saved. I Have my salvation. And anything else is a blessing.
[00:15:48] You know, it's extra. So I was instantly thinking, you know, what if I have that other child or if I have that job or I have that security?
[00:15:58] It's nice. It's an additional blessing. God is not faithful and good because he blessed me with this child.
[00:16:07] God is good and faithful because he is God and I have my salvation in Him. It's because of the cross that he is good.
[00:16:17] And through that, obviously he wants to bless us and he wants to make sure that we are his children. And it's okay to have desires and he puts those desires on your heart. So that is okay. And we can weep about it if it doesn't happen and we struggling, but we can also hold on to that faithfulness and that joy.
[00:16:41] There's this lady, a really well known lady. She was a Dutch lady, Jewish, Corrie 10, boom. And she was an author. Many of you know her.
[00:16:53] And she wrote, you will never know that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have.
[00:17:01] And then you discover that he truly is what you needed. You know, I can't imagine her circumstances being in a camp, but I do. I am aware that now, this day and age, there is so many people that her story is a bit of their reality now with all the wars going on. And, you know, it's so heartbreaking and I know it breaks God's heart. I don't think that God is sitting there in a cloud thinking, ha, ha, this is my great plan. But you know what?
[00:17:32] He has sent Jesus so that we don't have to go through that alone.
[00:17:36] We know that he is the answer to it all.
[00:17:41] And when I feel overwhelmed by the weight of the world, because I do find sometimes what am I actually contributing and how do I need to contribute? Because it feels so overwhelming that my only job is to pray. To pray and to bring it to God. And he will replace that overwhelming feeling of anxiety or with his joy.
[00:18:10] You know, blooming after fire, after wildfires.
[00:18:17] I don't know how that is feeling for you, but wildflowers are often grow most beautifully after wildfires.
[00:18:25] Fire clear the prize and releases nutrients into the soul.
[00:18:31] Isaiah 61:3, it says to give them beauty for ashes.
[00:18:38] It's a biblical promise of divine transformation and restoration.
[00:18:44] You know, I don't know how your life feels like. And maybe you're in the middle of that wildfire.
[00:18:50] And it is a bit what we said earlier about repeating scripture. If you're going through a really difficult time, God wants to take that Away from you. He wants to turn your grief or your pain into joy and strength. It's a biblical promise. It's something that you can claim, you can stand on it. It's his truth. And when you start proclaiming that, that peace and that strength will just fill up your heart, you know, for many of you, I think, will be able to relate with me in one sense or another. But 2020 felt like a wildfire for me.
[00:19:34] As I said, our journey to conceive was quite difficult. And then 2019 hit and I was pregnant and I was so happy and there were people in the church that came with words. I was like, oh, this is the best.
[00:19:50] But then 2020, January, February hit and we had a miscarriage.
[00:19:56] So it was a massive disappointment after so many years waiting.
[00:20:02] And then March happened. And what happened in March?
[00:20:05] Can you remember? Can I say the C word? Is it safe?
[00:20:10] But Covid came and I was an events manager, so I was on furlough. And then in the end, in November, I lost my job.
[00:20:19] And it was a really, really difficult season because it's so many things of what I did that was taken away from me. I wanted a child and I didn't get it. And I was happy in my job and that taken away. And what else am I going to do? There's not an events job out there in Covid when nothing is happening and we cannot be together. I felt really, really lost, but I knew I needed to make sure that I put myself in the right environment.
[00:20:50] So I started to watch this lady who did Everyday devotions and I decided to go for walks and just randomly call people and say, how are you?
[00:21:03] And one day I was walking every day the same walk, really. And I called my friend and she was like, are you okay? And I said, yeah, I'm just calling to see how you are. And I'm a bit bored.
[00:21:18] It was my friend in Holland and we started chatting and I was saying to her how bored I was and feeling very lost.
[00:21:28] I was not struggling with mental health, but I was kind of like the walls did speak to me. So maybe I was struggling with my mental health a bit. And she said to me, but Ruchelle, why are you not setting up Shine?
[00:21:42] You have now the time for it and you can set it up. And Shine is a woman empowering course that I was trained to facilitate.
[00:21:54] So I know many of you probably here have done the Shine course. Yes, I see some hints and it's all about our worth and our value and our strength and our purpose and we run Shine. We have done it, I think, four times or something like that. And the group of facilitators, they became really close friends to me. And I was also quite struggling with getting better friendships and deeper friendships, Christian friendships, making sure I had that environment right.
[00:22:29] And from that Eve, God came out. You know, it came actually out of a season where I felt really purposeless and very down, not good enough, very drained. But God had a plan. He was nurturing it. So soil and, you know, people came on that journey and they have all their own stories to add to that.
[00:22:55] And it's so beautiful that we are now, this morning, all together. And I know that it's a story that we'll continue to tell with. However you are going to step out in your area, there is always enough space in God's plan for everyone.
[00:23:12] It's not just a couple of them. God has a space for you to step into, to go out.
[00:23:22] So, yeah, I just wanted to say, like, also, it's an example about Eve a little bit and how it started and how we did that with Shine and the team. Really, I could never have dreamt that it would look like this. That's very much Rachel Minto here, who just have such a beautiful eye for making things really pretty and joining. And I think that's a great example actually, as well, about being in an environment.
[00:23:54] I have something, she adds something and then someone else adds something and I know something, and then it just gathers beautifully together as something that we are now enjoying altogether this morning.
[00:24:09] So my closing thought is to leave with you. Ashes do not signify the conclusion of your journey.
[00:24:17] Rather, they serve as fertilizers for your future.
[00:24:23] What we want to do now is we have very lovely, sustainable bookmarks which Hannah handcrafted and made, and it is quite an open space. And the bookmark is from Wildflower paper, so there's actually seeds of wildflower in it if you want to sow it.
[00:24:50] And there's quite some space there to write something.
[00:24:55] And maybe once when I was speaking, you have been thinking about maybe an old dream or something that you always wanted to do. You know, write a book or bake a cake for that neighbor or text this friend from your past or, you know, it doesn't have to be big things. It can be as small or as little.
[00:25:15] But maybe God has been speaking to you about what you can step out on. You know, my prayer is that not this, that this morning isn't going to be just for us this morning, that it's going to be A nice time, which is also obviously great.
[00:25:33] But we hope that we can sow and seed and flourish and flower out there.
[00:25:38] And it would be great if you want to write some thoughts and maybe you don't have anything. It's not something that you have to complete now here we're not going to exam you on what you have written.
[00:25:51] It's just between you and God really.
[00:25:54] And you can use it in, in the book that you're reading as a reminder for yourself.
[00:26:02] And once you're ready and it's maybe the right season.
[00:26:06] But you need to ask the flower experts. We now know who you are because you won your prizes to sow it. And you know when it sows and when the wildflowers come up, it can remind you of that promise.
[00:26:22] And you know what? It will not directly happen. It will be hidden in the ground. And that is as well maybe about your next step. It will probably take time. But you know what you have here some incredible women in the church. It's what we said about the connect groups. You know, if you're going and joining a connect group, it is something that you can pray with them about to say, you know what I feel God has been calling me. What I want to have more of this, whatever it is. Maybe you want to start your own connect group. Maybe it is something you feel like you need to do at your work. It doesn't matter what it is between you and God.
[00:27:04] And then once you're ready, you can sew it.
[00:27:07] So I hope you feel blessed by it. It's something little but hopefully will remind you.
[00:27:14] So with that I want to just close.
[00:27:18] Father God, thank you so much for your goodness. Thank you that your plans are good for us. Thank you. That you don't see our limitations, you see our potential, Father God. And I just pray that that potential will be sown that this morning is the beginning of some fresh and some new seeds. Father God. Father, I just pray for those women who are here this morning who just need refreshment, Father God. That we can just.
[00:27:45] Yeah pray that refreshments your strength and your peace over their situation, what they're dealing with. Father. Father, I just pray that you will tight us neater together as a friendship group, Father God. That there's no one here that feels alone or not loved, Father God. Because there is a space for everyone.
[00:28:05] Father, I just thank you for this morning.
[00:28:08] In Jesus name, amen.
[00:28:12] And maybe you have come here with someone.
[00:28:15] Obviously it's a lot of you. I know but maybe if I don't know you and maybe you don't have a relationship with God or maybe you feel like you want to set things straight with God. I always want to take the opportunity to make sure that we don't, we don't, we haven't missed you. You know, God is a real God and he is with you and he loves you. And when I was talking about the cross, it's something that we believe that has power and if you want to say things, set things straight with him. I just want to give those the opportunity to just pray that we can pray with them to restore, to invite Jesus into your life.
[00:29:00] So if we can bow our heads and repeat after me, Father God, thank you for who you are.
[00:29:10] Thank you for the cross.
[00:29:13] Thank you that you died for our sins and that you rose again.
[00:29:20] Father, I accept you as my Lord and Savior in Jesus name.
[00:29:29] Amen.
