I have just about recovered from what was an absolutely amazing weekend at Big Church Festival with the Princess Project. What a fantastic opportunity to meet and speak to Christians from churches all across the UK about what we’re doing and how they might be able to partner with us. It is a truly remarkable event – such a chilled, happy, family vibe, with 30,000 people coming together to worship Jesus and have fun (I wondered what the security guards made of it… Surely not the usual stuff they see at festivals…!)
But for full disclosure I thought I would share a bit about the challenges this event posed for me (because otherwise we all think everyone else’s lives are idyllic, right?!)
First of all, I was pretty anxious about the logistics. Putting up our beautiful new stand for the first time (big thanks to Souter Charitable Trust for the grant funding that paid for it and to the fab team at Bison Print in Maidstone for making our dreams a reality), knowing where to go, putting up the tent, working out the timings (there were only 2 of us and the stand needed to be manned 9.30am-8pm), getting the car out of the muddy field it was parked in…. These things all preyed quite heavily on my mind.
Then there were my physical limitations. I have osteoarthritis in my feet and inflammatory arthritis pretty much everywhere and (of course) a few days beforehand things had flared up a bit so I was in quite a lot of pain. I really didn’t know how I would cope with camping, lifting heavy stuff, and standing for 3 days.
Finally, as an introvert, talking to strangers for 10 hours a day is pretty much my worst thing to do ever (even about something I’m as passionate about as the work we do at the Princess Project).
But (spoiler alert) I survived- and on balance had a fantastic time.
An amazing team of prayer warriors had been on the case before and during the event, praying that God’s will would be done for PP, and for my physical wellbeing as well. And I really saw a pretty miraculous answer to prayer. My joints settled down and behaved themselves, and didn’t even have a tantrum when forced to stand in wellies in the mud for prolonged periods. I was actually in less pain than I am on an average day. God is good!
By Sunday evening though I was absolutely at the end of myself. My dear friend (and PP trustee) Joy, who was a total rock all weekend, had to put up with the grumpy results of what happens when a tired, hungry introvert who has had to socialise and talk and be enthusiastic for 3 days straight has to pack down a display stand for the first time in a muddy marquee (reader, it was so boggy we found AN ACTUAL TOAD on our stand when we packed away…!)
I threw everything into the boot (packing the car, especially when we go camping, is very definitely a blue job in our house and I tried not to think what Mr T would say when he saw the messy, muddy carnage), said goodbye to Joy and rather hysterically prayed my way out of the field (my state of mind wasn’t helped by the van parked behind me getting stuck in the mud.)
As I got nearer and nearer home, my spirits were gradually revived by the winning combination of prayer, tears, a rucksack full of snacks, and Queen Taylor on Spotify. As I pulled into the drive, the door opened and, despite the late hour, there stood Mr T and small munchkin who had been tracking me on Life 360 and knew I’d need a hug.
After a restorative night’s sleep I woke up to find that my wonderful husband had unpacked the car (keeping any judgement to himself!) and I was able to sit in blissful silence with a cup of coffee and reflect on how thankful I am for people- friends, family, even strangers- who partner with us, and how we can make up for each others’ weaknesses and infirmities and how much better we are together. And also how grateful I am for inside toilets and showers and a roof.
The goodness and faithfulness of God never ceases to amaze me. I know that my physical and emotional limitations force me to rely on him rather than to drift into the dangerous waters of thinking I’ve got it all together. My own resources may be limited but God’s are not- if we rely on him, he promises to equip us with what we need, every day. Now that really is worth celebrating.
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 MSG
Emma Tanner 