Dear Friends and Family,
You have made an immeasurable impact on my life. All I can really say is that I would not be who I am without you. I would like to take some time to be thankful for you. So without further ado:
Thank you to my family, who have driven me to tears, anger, and joy. You have given me something to fight for (and occasionally against haha). We have grown so much over the past couple years as we have seen first-hand God's ability to take the broken and the dead, and restore life. We have grown through Drew and Taryn's marriage. Though we face a long road to healing, I know God finishes what he starts. I love you all, and I always will.
Thank you friends. Although, the word friends seems shallow when I think of you. You are family in every way except by blood. The memories we have made together I will never forget. You have laughed with me, cried with me, learned with me, and done life with me. You have encouraged, rebuked, blessed, and forgiven me. From mission trips to bonfires, from home-made pizza to bowling, from vacations to late night food runs, you have been by my side. The times I have felt alone seem so insignificant and unrealistic as I think of your deep commitment and love for me. Know that I love you as well.
Thank you Illinois Navigators, for your dedication to discipleship. I have learned so much in my two years with you. This learning has gone beyond Bible knowledge. Instead you have instilled a thirst for a life with my Savior and my God. Through you my desire to be an authentic follower of Christ has grown deep and strong. You have been more than a ministry. You too have been family. We have sat under the word together, prayed together, hoped together, sung together, danced together, laughed together, cried together, traveled together, almost died together, and done life together. I will always be an Illini Navigator. I love you deeply. You are some of my closest friends, my dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, and without you I know my life would be in a much darker, more hopeless place.
Thank you Bloomington AC Church, for welcoming my family and I with open arms. You have been my home for nearly 7 years. You have loved me, taught me, and blessed me prodigally. Thank you Sunday School Teachers, for pouring into me. Thank you ministers, for your dedication to the Word, and to truth. Thank you church family, for providing food, taking us in, generously sending us on mission trips, loving without expecting anything in return. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your dedication to being the hands and feet of Jesus. I do love you all, and without you, I would not be where I am today.
No I am not dying...
Even though that section sounded kind of morbid, it was filled with love and joy. However, the title of this post is "The Next Chapter", and for a new chapter to begin, the previous one must draw to a close.
I have officially accepted my offer to attend Liberty University in the Fall of 2015.
To some of you this may come as a surprise. Some of you have known/anticipated this decision for a while. To all, it means that this current chapter of my life is coming to an end. I will be leaving Central Illinois, and heading for the mountains of Virginia. I go with joy, but I do not lightly leave this chapter behind. Most of my life has been spent here, with you all, and it has been the time of my life. And so I would like to share my reasons, dreams, and goals with you, the people who have raised, supported, loved, and shared this chapter with me.
Sounds Reason(able)
The first and least important reason for me is the financial side of things. Liberty offered me a full tuition scholarship that made attending very reasonable and completely affordable for me. That is all I have to say about that.
The second reason I chose Liberty is because I felt after counseling with parents, friends, and counselors that Liberty was the best place for my spiritual, emotional, and relational health. I have spent a long time in the comfort zone, if you will, of all that is familiar to me. Transferring to Liberty presents me with an intimidating challenge that will require growth and reliance on God. It will no doubt be a journey with ups and downs, pain and joy, excitement and disappointment, but I believe that I will emerge a better man for it.
A third reason I made my decision is because I feel at peace about it. Initially I struggled through a lot of fear, doubt, and anxiety. What if I didn't fit in? What if I lost all the relationships that were dear to me? What if it isn't what I expect it to be? Am I making this decision for the right reasons? Is this what God wants? Can I handle this?
While the answer to a lot of those questions is still "I don't know", I came to a place that was peaceful as I sat staring at the Rocky Mountains spread out in front of me. I found myself quite small, in the best possible way. A verse came to mind.
"Come now, you who say, Today or Tomorrow
we will go into such and such a town,
and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.
Yet you do not know what even tomorrow will bring.
What is your life?
You are a mist that appears for a short time and then vanishes."
James 4:13-14
As the Rockies loomed overhead, I found peace knowing that my best laid plans were totally covered by the mind, knowledge, and power of God. He knows what this decision will lead to. He knows each second of each day of my past and future. And best of all, he can totally frustrate all my plans, in order to bring himself the most glory. As I looked at this decision, and the doors God allowed to be opened, I found peace in putting it all under his control. Maybe this decision will backfire, but if it does, to him be the glory. If it doesn't, to him be the glory.
A final reason I made my decision is because I love Liberty University. The atmosphere, the people, the school, and everything they stand for. I won't talk much about that because I covered it in my other post about Liberty, which you can read here.
Dream on, Dream on.
I do have a dream. My dream is really quite simple. I dream that the next chapter will be filled with life. The life that can only be found in one source -- an intimate relationship with Christ. I hope that like Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, I will be afflicted in many ways, but not crushed. Perplexed, but not despairing. Persecuted, but never ever forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed.
I hope that the next years are filled with ups and downs, joy and sorrow, love and heartbreak, but always life, and always Christ. I also dream of redemption. Personal redemption, redemption for the church, redemption for the lost, redemption of the world today, and eventually the redemption of all things. Hope belongs to those who dream. I have chosen to hold on to hope. I can't wait to see where my dreams take me.
End Goal: ?
Most of you know I am not super hot at setting goals. In fact, I barely know what a goal is. The crazy thing is, this time I actually do have a few goals.
First, I don't want to distance myself from all of you. You are dear to me. I will be intentional in keeping in touch with you. Intentional in keeping you in touch with my life, and what I am experiencing and learning. The love I have for you cannot be broken by distance. Future chapters in our stories will bring our paths back together once again.
Second, I want to grow. Grow in faith, knowledge, and relationship with God. I will be committed to my studies, to pursuing a community, and giving God my life by trusting him with it. I believe this decision is the next step for me in that process.
I tried to think of a third one, but hey two goals for me is like a baby sprinting out of the maternity ward. That would actually be awesome. Anyway....
Thank you.
For taking the time to read this. If you have any questions, concerns etc. please talk to me about them. You are important to me. I am excited for the next chapter, but my roots will always be in the last one.
I would like to conclude with this prayer of Paul's in Ephesians 3:14-21.
"I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family
in heaven and on earth is named.
I pray that according to the riches of his glory
he may grant you to be strengthened with power,
through his Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith.
So that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the saints
the breadth and length and height and depth
of the love of Christ, which surpasses understanding,
so that you may be filled with the fullness of God.
Now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask or think, according to the power
at work within us.
To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
throughout all generations, forever and ever."
Amen, and Go Flames!
