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Take - Yoke Fellows
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Yoke Fellows
Take
Phil 4:3
Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. NIV
What would life be without yoke fellows? A yoke fellow is someone who has chosen the hitch themselves to your team and lightens your load. They stand shoulder to shoulder beside you, straining to help us pull the loads that life sends our way. Like a team of oxen, hitched together to pull a heavy load, so do our yoke fellows stand ready to share our yokes.
For the 2007 Pocket Full of Quarters Journey, God sent many yoke fellows. My nephew Bill traveled with me for 3 weeks, helping set up Halleluiah, staying up late as I wrote into the night, and trudging across dusty muddy and/or rocky trails in search of comfort stations, food, and rest. Bill helped at the International Christian Retailer’s Show, shared his faith as we traveled, and stood beside me when we reported poor Halleluiah’s vandalism to the police.
My ministry partners, husband - Bob Touchton and Publicist - Gail Golden once again accepted the responsibility of being yoke fellows by praying for the journey, supporting the ministry in their own unique ways, and always offering encouragement. This year, my girlfriend, Janice Sullivan took the yoke of offering editorial comments and encouragement about my web stories. As always my Aunt Ka Ka and Uncle Bobby covered me daily in prayer.
Along the way, I met the Sojourners. They saw me on television and invited me to visit. Sojourners, Ron and Amanda Fuller took the yoke of taking me into their ministerial fold, following and praying for the journey, and calling throughout the journey to offer prayer and guidance.
The last week of the journey, God sent Christian author and speaker, Barbara Gobbs to join the journey. Together, Barbara and I laughed, prayed, fought spiders, and studied word of God. As the days of our journey unfolded, Barbara and I became closer and closer yoke fellows. By the end of the journey, not only were we working together on the assignments God sent our way, God was beginning to send Barbara her own Pocket Full of Quarters assignments.
One night, after we had traveled all day, dumped a holding tank, set up Halleluiah, and cooked our evening meal we sat down exhausted but ready to spend a few hours writing. Barbara looked at me and said, “Talking to people about God is easier than I thought but traveling is harder than I thought.”
I laughed, knowing what she meant. Most people that hear what I do think the travel is the fun exciting part and talking to people about God is the hard part. In fact, like Barbara observed, just the opposite is true. The yoke of spreading the word of God is easy and the burden is light. It is the reward for the load of moving from place to place, alone, and often lonely.
When people become true yoke fellows, their lives change forever. There is power when people from entirely different places see how God worked out the intricate details to bring their lives together at this moment in time. There is a sense of awe when the vision of God’s yoke comes together and people join forces to fulfill that vision. There is a sense of adventure as yoke fellows wonder where this yoke is taking them. There is a sense of faith as yoke fellows learn to depend on God and each other.
When The Sojourner read that Barbara had had joined the journey, he wrote, “It is great you have a yokefellow with you on your way back to "exile" in Phoenix. Our prayers are with you.“ I had shared with The Sojourners how God had led us away from our beloved Jacksonville and into the desert of Phoenix, Arizona. As I laughed at the word “exile,” I thought about all the times The Sojourners had made me laugh in the short time I’d known them. Ron’s words inspired my sense of awe for all the yoke fellows in my life.
As the 2007 Pocket Full of Quarters journey ends, I thank God for sending my yoke fellows. I praise God for ministry partners like Bob Touchton and Gail Golden and for friends like Janice Sullivan. I am privileged to be loved and prayerfully supported by my aunt and uncle. I now feel connected to the ministries of The Sojourners and Barbara Gobbs and anticipate with wonder what God has planned for those connections. As my nephew Bill grows older and matures spiritually, I look forward to the yokes we will share in the future. I thought about those wonderful people whose names are in the book of life and I knew that while our joined yokes will be easy and their burdens light, they will involve time, energy, commitment, and obedience. What a privilege it will be to stand together, side by side, as yoke fellows, in the cause of the gospel.
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