Just over 7 years. That's how long I've been in Portland. I've been giving the blessing of becoming a dad to my three amazing children. Mandy and I have been able to buy our first house. I've been able to coach, I've had the gift of getting to preach at camps and churches. I've fallen in love with this community and feel so at home here. I've gotten to go camping for the first time. I've lost an incredible amount of weight. It has been 7 joyous years with adventures I'll hopefully always remember.
It has also been 7 of the toughest years of my life. As I sat in the lobby during the Global Leadership Summit last week, listening to the worship leaders from Hillsong, I was preoccupied with many different things. As I stood next to a friend I met on the day I had moved to Portland, the realization of the different challenges and struggles came rushing in. The ever returning question of should I find a different career was on the tip of my tongue once again.
As I wrestled with those emotions, the verse I would share with football players and coaches the next day came flooding in.
I opened the Word to read it again and there, in a verse I memorized back in my Bible Quizzing days, 5 words stood up with neon lights flashing around them.
...ok, not really, but you get the point.
perseverance. must. complete. its. work.
Those words staring me back in the face with the comforting assurance of a Father who would say, "I'm not finished with you yet. Let it do its work. Don't cut it off by taking off."
Humbled and grateful, I sat with my King. No words said or suggested. No writing. No talking with the man who stood beside me. Just me and Jesus, just being together. As those words continued to float around in my mind and heart, I embarked on a weekend where I got to see God do some amazing things through work I had a direct role in. I watched God use me in ways I hadn't experienced in a long time.
Continuing to reflect on the struggle, the challenges and these 5 words; I have found myself believing that a good next step to help me continue to process and persevere would be to write, ok, type. I won't share these on FB...not looking for a big audience. But some of you will find this processing and you'll comment, and you'll help me process. That will be appreciated. In all these things I'll write, they will clearly be the perspective of one person. In every story there are different perspectives as the sames story unfolds. This will just be my perspective on what happened; and the resulting struggle I endured.
These are the stories and events that almost derailed me...stay tuned for the first.
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