Moments to Ponder
Pondering is a lost practice today.
The idea that we might actually take a few moments to think deeply about anything seems indulgent in our busy, full schedules. Yet, our souls crave rest and space to breathe, process our lives, choices, and walk with Jesus. I invite you to join me fora few moments to take in Scripture and take away a few thoughts to ponder throughout your day.
Moments to Ponder
Episode 158: Arrow Out, Peace In (Col. 3:12-17)
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A snowy cabin, a tired heart, and a chapter that wouldn’t let go—Colossians 3 turned a season of burnout into a turning point for Betsy. After a painful reorganization at church and the quiet ache of feeling “not enough,” a long-buried moment resurfaced: a warning phone call that planted a lie and fueled years of striving. What seemed like a four became a ten because an old arrow finally worked its way to the surface. That’s where forgiveness stepped in—not as approval, but as release—and where Christ’s peace began to rule.
We share the honest process of naming hidden fears, pulling up the root of unforgiveness, and discovering how identity in Christ reframes every bruise. The passage’s call to “put on” compassion, kindness, humility, and unoffendable patience becomes more than a list; it’s the wardrobe of a heart that knows it is dearly loved. From that place, gratitude stops being a nicety and becomes strength. “Let the word of Christ dwell richly” shifts from theory to practice through simple rhythms: Scripture that takes up residence, a written list of truths that confronts lies, and Sabbath that protects the soul from endless proving.
This journey didn’t end in quitting; it sparked purpose. Sitting by the fire, Betsy recorded her first teaching to help students and busy listeners carry scripture into everyday life—seed of the podcast you’re hearing now. If you’re holding wounds that won’t name themselves or living under a story that drains joy, this conversation offers a path: tell the truth, forgive generously, surrender to peace, and let love be the mark of maturity. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs courage, and leave a review with one truth you’re choosing to believe today.
Download the Companion Guide Here:
0:00 Welcome & Colossians 3 Focus
0:50 Ministry Burnout and Loss
2:05 Cabin Retreat for Rest and Clarity
3:10 Colossians 3 Illuminates Identity
4:14 Forgiveness and the Hidden Arrow
6:05 Peace, Surrender, and Pruning
8:10 Word Dwelling Richly and Calling
10:10 Birth of the Podcast Mission
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Hi friends, I'm Betsy, and I want to welcome you to Moments to Ponder. This podcast is designed to help you spend a few moments in God's Word and take away something to ponder. I pray you are encouraged and challenged through our time together today. This is Episode 158. The section of scripture for today is found in Colossians 3, and it is a foundational element of my testimony. It's been about 17 years since these verses leapt off the page and convicted my heart. But before I tell you why, let me share a bit of my life in that moment. I was in my early 40s, serving in full-time youth ministry, halfway through my master's program, and my husband was unemployed. We had a preteen and a teenager in the busyness of sports in school. Life was full. And if that wasn't enough, a restructure within the church organization had removed me from a leadership position that I had held for a long time. I was given the reasons, and they were really hard to hear. Needless to say, as I returned from an international youth mission trip that January, I knew I was done. I can call it burnout now, but at that moment all I could say was that I was tired to the depths of my soul, and I was thinking that quitting was my best option. Working at Panera looked really good to me. My heart was hurting, and I was wrestling with my calling. A dear friend offered a place to go, and I headed out to her cabin in the middle of a Michigan winter to rest, discover, and renew. Whatever that meant. After starting a fire in the wood-burning fireplace, I watched the snowfall as I prayed, rested, read a book, slept. And after some time, I finally opened my Bible. I know now that God led me to Colossians, but back then I just picked a book. I started reading and came to chapter 3. It's our section for today. And verse 12 begins with these words. No matter how tired, how short-tempered or stretched thin I was, I am dearly loved. Always. I knew this in my head, but I felt it deeply in my heart that day. His presence was tangible. The verse goes on to say, So robe yourselves with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith. Forgive one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of true maturity. Put on compassion, kindness, gentleness, humility. Be unoffendable in patience to others. Have you ever noticed that when you're tired, frustrated, or angry, these are the characteristics that seem the first to go? But Paul wrote, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. I stared at this verse, and it was as if a spotlight came on and illuminated a moment years earlier. A moment I actually hadn't thought of in years. It wasn't earth-shattering, to be honest. I didn't even realize I was carrying unforgiveness until the Holy Spirit lit this moment up. I can still remember the moment. I was standing in the Starbucks parking lot, hot coffee in my hand, when I received a phone call from a friend that had just been let go from the church where we both worked. And she said, Be careful. No one is safe. Although this wasn't true, the fear of losing what I loved started to feed the lie that I wasn't enough that I already lived with. This lie that I needed to prove myself, and my fear of rejection went on overdrive. Taking the metaphor from The Sacred Romance by John Eldridge, an arrow found its mark in my heart that day, and it started to fester. And as I thought of my current situation, I had to ask myself, why was I having a 10 reaction to the reorganization when it should have been more like a four? And as I pondered it, I could see that the recent reorganization had brought the festering arrow to a full-on, open, ugly wound. I'd been holding unforgiveness toward the church for how they handled my friend. And her release had fed a fear that I didn't have a name for at the time, but I could see all the ways the lie had affected me. She didn't realize that her words were an arrow, hitting a fear that already lived in me. She was just hurt and angry, and I can see that. But as I looked back, I could see years of striving, achieving, earning, misguided identity, and fear. Now it sounds like I walked around angry. I didn't. Honestly, ministry was growing. I loved it. Things were great. The arrow was so buried that it lay dormant until I was so exhausted that it wasn't hidden anymore. If you know me, remember this was 17 years ago. So I was only a few years into ministry at that point, and I had a lot to learn. Colossians continues in verse 15. Let your heart be always guided by the peace of the anointed one who called you to peace as part of his body and always be thankful. I wanted peace. It was why I had gone to the cabin in the woods. I wanted the peace of Christ to rule in my heart. God used these verses to help me see the deeper issue. Yeah, I needed to forgive, but even more I needed to deal with the lie that was poisoning my heart. If you've ever been in a moment like this, you know it. Growth and pruning are painful. Yet I'm so thankful he loved me enough to show me the truth. I was holding unforgiveness and believing lies. Right there in that moment, I knelt down before that little fire and I came clean. I asked him to pull out the root of unforgiveness and to yank the lie arrow out of me that had taken hold in my heart. And the sweet peace of release that followed is one of the wonderful mysteries of Jesus. I am forever grateful for that time with him. Since Paul's letter says so much about who we are in Christ, I spent the next few hours in that cabin writing the reasons for the loss of my position. I wrote down all the things that were said about me and I asked, How had I become that person? And then I wrote all the things I know that are true about who I am in Christ. It was eye-opening and healing. It changed me at a deep soul level that I have sought to hold on to with all that I am. It was the first time I understood what it felt like to be truly free in Jesus, to own truth over lies, loved, not rejected, seen, not pushed aside, worthy, not demoted, enough, no more striving, and wanted, not rejected. I had allowed the lie to exhaust me. So I knew in that moment that taking a Sabbath and rest would be key parts of my spiritual health. So have you ever made a list? Literally wrote down all the things that you know are true about you because of Jesus. In the companion guide, I have some prompts for you if you'd like to dive into that. Paul wrote that love is the mark of true maturity. It takes maturity in Christ to love as He did, and that includes how you love yourself, to truly keep no grievances, to be humble and kind to everyone, to live in a state of gratefulness. This requires a maturity that is only found through pruning and growth. It takes maturity to hear criticism as a way to grow. It takes perspective to see beyond the moment to the larger plan of God. But when we walk in this way, we discover a peace beyond our understanding. It's basically called surrender. Verse 16. So let the word of Christ live in you richly, flooding you with all wisdom. Apply the scriptures as you teach and instruct one another with the psalms and with festive praises and with prophetic songs given to you spontaneously by the Spirit. So sing to God with all your hearts. Let every activity of your lives and every word that comes from your lips be drenched with the beauty of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. And bring your constant praise to God the Father because of what Christ has done for you. As I came to these verses, my teacher heart came alive. These verses gave me hope and began to kindle the fire that still burns in me today. It's the reason behind this podcast. Let the word of Christ live in you richly, flooding you with all wisdom. Apply the scriptures as you teach and instruct. On my final day at the cabin, I sat with my computer and created my first podcast. Although it was long enough ago that I actually burned CDs and handed them out, it was the first time I recorded biblical teaching. I wanted to help students and others discover the richness of scripture, to know how to apply them and to know how love they are in a way that would fit into their busy worlds by creating something that they could listen to on their way to school. And now here we are. Dear one, I pray that this piece of my story can help you take a deeper look within you. I know forgiveness can be a hard, painful process, but I need to ask, is it difficult for you to forgive someone who has wronged you when God has forgiven you so much? Or maybe for you it's arrows that are festering, lies that have taken hold and seemingly truth in your heart? Is there something you've come to believe that is actually a lie that has brought you shame or striving or bondage? If shame, striving, or bondage are the result, then you know it is a lie. Paul tells us that if we are to have compassion, kindness, patience, and mercy, it has to flow out of love because his love for us and in us, that's how we can forgive. We wear these virtuous robes because of Jesus. And as we learn to love well, the virtues grow. In the Passion Translation, it says, Love is the mark of true maturity. We grow in maturity as we acknowledge the areas where lie arrows live, or we notice the roots of unforgiveness and how they've grown. But as his word floods you with wisdom and you apply these scriptures, I pray you experience a renewed heart that loves differently and the peace that that brings. As you ponder these verses in my story today, search your heart and ask your heart questions about forgiveness. Remember, let every activity of your life and every word that comes from your lips be drenched with the beauty of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. For you are always and dearly loved by God. Thanks be to God. Amen. If you've never really written a list of things that are true about you because of Jesus, I encourage you to take some time to do so. Put it somewhere where you can remind your soul and let the truth of it sink in deep. You are loved, chosen, seen, wanted, known. Use these truths to come against any lie that doesn't agree with his truth. Thanks for joining me.