Did I really just say that?  It seems a bit unreal at times but it’s true.  Soon no longer will we call the Upstate home.  This is very odd for me.  I’ve NEVER lived in one place longer than I have in the Greenville/Spartanburg area.  I grew up as a pastors kid.  We moved a lot and the longest I had ever been in one place was 6 years (yeah for Cuba, NY).  We’ve been in the Upstate going on 11 years now.  It truly has become home for me like no other place.  Soon we will be coastal living.  Sure there are worst places to be.  But we are looking forward to be calling Pawleys Island, HOME.

The thoughts of moving has it’s ups and downs.  I WOULD NEVER Choose to leave this area.  Why would you?  And factor in the fact that my family is right here, Dave’s family is here. My 87 and 86 year old grandparents live 5 houses down from us.  Why would you ever think of leaving?  You wouldn’t unless the Lord spoke so audibly to your heart and told you once again to step out by faith and go.  After all we are “Wayfarers” and the true definition of that is one having no home.

Those of you who know our family well know the past handful of ministry years have had some struggle for us as we have seen good friends and ministry partners and their families be called onto other places of mission. Although you are happy because  you know they are following the voice of the shepherd that they heard, selfishly it’s still hard when they no longer are part of your daily ministry community.  I mourned for the longest time and tried to make sense of what God was doing.  And I often sat in doubt wondering if we could ever find those types of relationships again in life as a community on mission.

You see, one thing that I think is VERY NORMAL about Dave and I is that we choose to live in community.  As I get to chance to meet other people I am finding out that most people don’t live this way. For me I think are many things that you can do in life on your own and possibly even be more successful if you did.  BUT who wants to win at the end of the day all alone?  Our family was created for community and to live in it.  Even through heartache that can happen at times when your community changes, for me it still worth it.  Enough so that we will always do anything to find it and live in it.

I knew God had a plan for us in all the things happening around us.  Things that we could not control nor could not see.  I knew this because He had shown himself so Faithful to me in my past.  Through my struggles with infertility and adoption.. how could I not trust Him once again? 

Over a year ago.. Dave was invited to attend a meeting that was taking place in Pawley’s Island.  He thought he was heading into a meeting about future projects with one of our contacts in Atlanta.  Instead he ended up finding himself at a “Tasters Conference” put on by 3DM.  He had no clue who 3DM was or what he was about to walk into. It was however in those few days that we finally had someone articulating our heart of what we were living through.  Joining the world of Thought and Spirit, Discipleship and Community, Healing and Struggle.  And into that moment God began to weave relationships like only He knows how.

There is so much more to it.  It would make a great story.  But better yet it’s not just a story, it’s real. Our times of pruning and abiding were preparing us for our future.  In time, the fruit hit.  The first fruit.  It would take a book to write.  Maybe one day I’ll do that. 🙂 

So I sit here in a home that is needing to sell.  It’s the last thing of closure that needs to happen so that our family can take it’s next step on this journey.  I’ve sat in this moment many times before.  The moment that you can not control.  The moment where I see Time but I know HE see’s Timing. So you do what you do best.  You TRUST.  You try not to worry. He knows where we need to be and when. 

I’m not alone in this.  I am one of many people who sit in these moments EVERY day.  Mine is a silly thing of a house.  Some of you sit in moments of sickness, disease, hardship, marriage issues, a father given only a few weeks due to the cancer that is ravaging his body.  I looked a homeless man in the eyes today and the only thing I could do in the moment was give him physical food praying that “living food” would sustain him. We live in a messed up broken world with things that we can’t control.  I just really want to encourage you in your moments of struggle or uncertainty to put your Faith in Him. Trust him with His TIMING.  It does not mean you don’t beg and plead for breakthrough.  But regardless of HIS Timing you trust.  Keep Trusting. 

Leaving here will be hard.  It’s a huge loss to leave.  I can’t even think of leaving our family and friends and the history we have built here.  But leaving here will be one of the most rewarding and exciting things as our lives continue to unfold.  It’s a huge win.  We have a family in Pawley’s who is awaiting our arrival.  Together we will continue to press into doing mission and life together in attempts to be part of a Movement that will change the world.  We will teach it but more importantly we’ll live it.  It’s what we have given our lives to.

I will follow you….You know where I have been you were there with me then.  You were faithful before you will be faithful again, I am holding your hand.  I will follow you….