Well, friends, it's been too long, I know. After two weeks of cross country travel, I have finally landed in a place with internet access that allows me to reach out to you, once again. I've missed you and apologize for my absence here.
Prepare yourself for an onslaught of photo uploads that have been backlogged due to this country's refusal to provide free WiFi access everywhere I go. I am not saying the government is against me, just against providing you with updates to our adventure and all God is doing. Maybe it's just me, I don't know.
This post comes to you from the Chicago area on a very blustery and gloomy November day. In the past 19 days I have traveled from Portland, OR to Rockford, IL through many different landscapes. From tree covered mountains longing for a dusting of snow to justify the chill that has set in and erased their golden coat of leaves, to rolling hills of amber grain speckled with stark black cattle gleaning the land of its last gifts of nourishment before, what is sure to be, a very long and cold winter. It is quite interesting to me how my windows play the scenes around me like a movie on a screen, telling the story of my own internal script. The mountain tops of realization that I am really doing this. God chose me to travel the country and absorb the ingenious creativity of His very own creation. Peaks of overwhelming humility at the generosity of the people in my life that continuously pray, encourage, and support me inspite of my own self-perceived shortcomings and failures. The canyon rim overlooking where I have been and where God is leading me to. Then there are the river valleys of self-doubt and loneliness. Even in these low places God is there revealing His grace in the water as it glitters with the reflection of the sun and the purity of the saturated colors lining the banks. Even here His beauty is seen. No matter the landscape or flood of emotion, I am His.
Recently, I have slowly been coming to the conclusion that the Lord brought me out here to simply be alone with Him. He asked me to give up everything I had and follow Him on a journey to a stronger, deeper relationship that, otherwise, would have been lost in the busyness and distractions of my everyday life. To simply be obedient to Him and His will. In spite of my expectations that I was supposed to be this great preacher, bringing people to Christ left and right, this is a training period for the next chapter in my life. Without this experience, I would not possess the tools necessary to be successful on the next adventure.
The coolest part, you ask? Definitely having you all there with me. This adventure would have been unbearable if you all decided not to come along. Your commitment to reading this blog, commenting on my words and photos, sending love through Facebook and Instagram, leveraging your hard earned money to further our journey, hooking me up with couches and beds to crash on, and every single moment spent in prayer for my safety and growth has seriously made this adventure worth taking. Friendships have been rekindled, new ones made, and words exchanged that would have otherwise never been spoken. God is doing something much bigger than the work in my life. He is cultivating and executing a plan that was finalized before the earth began. This goes way beyond me and my desires and I cannot wait to see where it all ends up. Most likely that view will come on the other side of Heaven.
I am looking forward to the next two weeks of travel before I land at home for Thanksgiving and the holiday season. The next six stops include friends that I haven't seen in 5-10 years. Not because they were incarcerated, like the previous statement sounds, but because that's just how life happens. Another bonus to this adventure; long lost friends reunite. Also, friends that I haven't seen in three months, but might as well have been 30 years, because I miss them that much. Preparing for an overabundance of love, hugs, laughs, jokes, high fives, and all around invasion of personal space. Bring it on!
May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.
2 Thessalonians 3:5
It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
Isaiah 55:11
My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."
Psalm 27:8
You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:8-9