Mark Darling – Story 121

We all appreciate you very much and are so grateful for the God-honoring leadership that you have provided for us!

There are many things that we love and appreciate about you, Mark, and the greatest attribute that we are thankful for is that we know without a doubt that we can really TRUST you. We believe that you are not just “preaching” but actually living out the very things that you talk about! We have learned SO much about choosing to live for Christ, prioritizing the things of God, loving God and loving others with a heart to reach those around us with the light of Jesus… by your good example.

We are so grateful for your fierceness to honor God by living it out for real at home. We are spurred on and encouraged to love each other well in our marriage. We are committed to growing in and learning how to lead our children well. We have captured the vision to prepare our children for God and prepare them for life! So thank you! Our family thanks you!

One specific piece of advice that you offered to us during Steve’s job loss and re-tooling for a new career was for us to hold onto our values. That one piece of advice really helped us. It really helped us trust God with the decisions we were making to keep me home, educating our children; and Steve’s decision to do whatever he needed to do to provide. (And ultimately, we learned to really trust God as the Ultimate Provider – and that is exactly what God faithfully did!) That was a very difficult time in our lives, but as our pastor, we felt very cared for and encouraged by your kind words, the verses you sent, the emails that checked in and reaffirmed your faithfulness to pray for us – all those little gestures meant the world to us. We are so grateful to you as our pastor, our friend. So, thank you, thank you, thank you!

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