by Krista
This month, we lost a man who we were privileged to work closely with for a little more than a week at the language school.
When we heard the news, I wrote this on Facebook:
We were so thrilled when Jerry and Jane Bridges accepted our invitation to come for a week to Costa Rica to work with us! (Actually, we had Jerry booked for a later date, but he gently suggested we try to make it work earlier, given that he was “getting up there” in years and he couldn’t guarantee he’d still be around!) I’m so thankful we did! Tonight we learn that he is with Jesus. He must be so excited!
Every minute we could squeeze out of their time with us, we were peppering Jerry and Jane with questions on faith, life, ministry, and family. It was humbling to tell the author of “Trusting God” how his writing had been such a catapult in my own fight against fear.
Crossway just published this timely article by Jerry. Having been the recipient of his generosity, this stood out to me:
Over the past dozen years I have flown over a million miles, I have delivered over a thousand messages, I have written several books and a number of articles for Christian magazines. I confess I often get weary of the continuous travel, the frequent writing deadlines, and the pressure of constant message preparations, and I sometimes begin to feel sorry for myself. How do I keep going? How do I keep from feeling sorry for myself? Each day as I appropriate the gospel for myself, I say to God, “I am your servant. Because of your mercy to me and your grace at work in me, I again present my body as a living sacrifice. If this means continual travel and continual time pressure, I accept that from you and thank you for the privilege of being in your ministry.”
While they were with us, both Jane and Jerry were pushing through bronchitis and it was clear they were tired. The heavy international schedule was taxing. It was so humbling to see them give (what they knew to most likely be nearing the end of their time on earth together) so selflessly to us.