In 2 weeks we load up a truck and move our family.  It’s one thing talking about it. It’s a whole other thing to physically pack boxes and walk through the act of doing it.  I think a lot of situations in life we encounter are like that.  There is the Knowing Part but then there is the Going Part.

I’ve already had a little practice before our family moves. This past week we spent hours up at the Wayfarer office packing it for moving our offices to Pawleys.  10 Years is a long time.  It goes by so fast but as you sift through the memories it seems like a decade of a journey.  I was surprised what things brought me joy or sadness in the packing stages.  Each year has had it’s own memory for me.  Our first offices in the Norris home basement.  I found Dave’s first Wayfarer cell phone. “oh my”.  Printing material for the first Engage we did at the YMCA in downtown Spartanburg.  Our first logo. Yearly staff Christmas photo’s.  Some with missing spouses and children because they did not exist yet.  With each day we walked a journey, uncertain of a the future but the peace that was always there was that we were in it together.

We came to the Upstate years ago to minister to the 20 somethings, a generation that most churches could not focus on.  We do a lot of other things as well but that has been what has specifically tied us to this area. And in our last times of our local ministry  in the upstate it has became very clear that our time physically here was coming to closure.  Doors began to shut all over the place.  And he did what he always does… HE gentle but firmly revealed that we were done what we were called to do in this area.  It sounds simple to say doors shut.  But we had some doors that were closed on us that took us a long time to process through. We fought it at times but in the end your only option is to let go, surrender and slowly start to begin to walk.  And as we did HE began opening up doors for us we never even knew where there and so we kept walking.  And into that act of obedience of walking (sometimes that was really hard to do), HE revealed to us our next step of our journey.

Wayfarer has always been unique to the fact that we are a group of friends and family that are on mission together.  It’s an open invitation and those that want to live into community and there is always a seat at the table to do so. And as some of our team in the past few years felt called to other area’s of ministry it still never broke the spirit of Wayfarer’s desire to keep doing life together with others while attempting to be great agents of change in this world.

I think you want to believe everyone lives this way. As I encounter more people each day in ministry many of them stand alone on an island trying to work out the calling on their life.  Or they do have a group of people surrounding them but it’s set up more like a System of control than it is a Community..  And may I just suggest that life is truly that much more rewarding when you chose to do it together with others?  To even dare to love others and want them to do things for the Kingdom far greater than you could ever do I think is one of my deepest desires.

I sit here reflecting with some tears.  As our lives have collided with our 3DM family I sit in awe of HOW GOOD he really is.  We moved in our office yesterday in Pawleys.  Unloaded furniture and stuff that we have compiled through the years.

I was getting updates when the guys returned asking how it went.  Dave said, it’s amazing.  The space we have will be great but there is nothing like finally being on the ground with a group of people you feel you are to do life with and give your life to in the investment that we can encourage and impact others to do the same.  It’s going to be a great collaborate space full of the most amazing talented people who at the end of the day all want the same thing.  To be a missional family that works together and plays together.  It is possible. Look at this picture and add 30 years to all of us and we’ll still be doing the same thing.

So as you can see life is VERY BUSY and VERY FULL.  Dave heads out tomorrow morning and is home one day before we load a truck and move our own family. In two weeks we make the transition.  I will continue to keep packing.  To HONOR and REMEMBER the adventure He has already done in our lives through the past 10 years.  But then to MOVE INTO and FULLY EMBRACE the next season of our lives.

The Reichleys are in Pawleys today confirming a home they will rent.  They have some amazing options.  If I told you, you would not believe it. I’ve been laughing about it for the past 24 hrs.  And the home we have found has been a blessing as well.   HIS provision has been amazing for all of us and he has given both our families things BEYOND anything we ever could have asked for or could have imagined in his perfect timing.

More to come on that later….