obeying in the dark

coming home for a year has really been a blessing, although i had to be driven to that blessing kicking and screaming. ellie grace got to know her grandparents better, renee' got to be a stay-@-home mom for a while, i met my friend ollie and came to love the people @ st. peter's, i renewed my friendship w/ the judge and even made a little money. but even if i had to measure the value of my time here solely by the nights spent out on my porch, i'd still say this is exactly where god wanted us for these months.

it seems like we hit mississippi @ just about the same time that several of our friends were going through difficult and life-changing experiences, and god has allowed renee' and me to (i hope) be of some help to most of them, in whatever little way we could. it's really my first taste of "pastoral" ministry, and it all happened in in the unlikeliest of settings. tonight i emailed someone i love very much and told him what i've come to learn while sitting out there swinging -- whatever the circumstances, keep asking questions, keep searching, keep praying, keep reading, obey even though it seems like it's perpetually twilight . . . and god will be found. he longs to be found, and sometimes all it takes is a few friends, a cloud of smoke and a porch. to those of you who have sat w/ me out there, thanks. for everything.