Hello all. You don't know how strange it is that my first official post on this site should happen to be the article on the front page. My name is Adam--husband of Holly, son-in-law of Herb and new co-owner of FP. Becoming a part of this work that God has raised up is kind of  like getting thrown into the middle of a lake in order to be taught how to swim. Nevertheless, I have confidence that our God, who can multiply fishes and bread and can make donkeys speak, will give all of us what we need to do His will.

I've been a long-time lurker on FP, sometimes secondhand through Holly and Herb, and I have consistently been impressed with the community here. I'm excited about becoming a part of the FP family and getting to know many more of you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, as time goes on. 

I met Jesus in 1991 while I was a sophomore in college. I was looking for the meaning of life and, as it turns out, He found me. Currently I work as a 911 operator and go to seminary at Talbot School of Theology. Recently I had to do a project on Mark 14:32-42--Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. I was moved as I considered this snapshot God gave us of Jesus as He geared up to face His darkest hour. Little did I know at the time I was doing the project that the things I was pondering would soon become very relevant as Holly and I got the news that Herb was entering his darkest hour.

The first thing that hit me from the Mark passage was the fact that, as the hour of trial came, Jesus didn't just hang out with the disciples in the upper room all night. He didn't try to run from His problems by socializing with His friends or by filling up on another plate of roast lamb. He got out of the bustle so that He could pray about what was to come. And when Jesus left the upper room, he even left many of His disciples behind and only took with Him those who were closest to Him: Peter, James and John. This makes sense to me. When things get really tough, you don't want tons of people around, but just those tried-and-true friends you know you can trust. Even in Herb's last week he wasn't able to have many guests, but he got comfort from having his family and a few of his closet friends nearby.

The second thing that hit me from Jesus' time in Gethsemane was how "real" He got with the Father. Think about it: Jesus asked for the moon. He asked that, if possible, the cup of suffering would be taken away from Him.

That was no small prayer.

He didn't pray for less pain or for it to go as quickly as possible--He prayed big. He asked  for the hour of His testing to pass from Him. This is one area in which I often fall short--I pray too small. But don't forget that along with this super-sized request He also added, "Yet not what I will, but what You will." And that's another area in which I at times fall short, to ask for God's will above my own. When Holly and I got the news about Herb's colon cancer, we prayed and asked for the moon. We prayed, as so many of you did, for his complete healing and for years to be added to his life. And we also prayed for God's will and not our own.

And like Jesus, we kept on praying, even when things looked like they were getting worse. Jesus must've been discouraged to see His closest friends fall asleep in His time of trial. But Jesus kept on coming to them and turning to God in prayer. When you face your darkest hour, you've got to get in it for the long haul. It's not always an easy road. Sometimes it's downright heartbreaking, but, like Jesus, we've got to keep on persevering in those prayers. 

In Herb's case, we didn't get what we wanted. But you know what? Jesus didn't get what He wanted either. Humbling, isn't it? The Son of God in His human form, the one who--at any time--could call out for a legion of angels to help Him, got a "No" to His prayer. It kind of puts things in perspective. 

But all was not loss because even alongside of that golden "No" was the answer to the other half of that prayer: that God's will would be done. Jesus got the bigger picture. He realized that "the hour has come." Yes, it was the hour of trial. Yes, it was the hour of pain. But it was also the hour of the fulfillment of the ages. It was the hour of Creator God reconciling sinful mankind. It was the hour of greatest shame, but also the hour of greatest glory. 

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose" --Romans 8:28