In November of 2015, I stepped out of full-time ministry because of the circumstances of life at that moment. Even though I still had a passion for it, I was not in a place that I could continue to do so at that time. A couple weeks later, I loaded up my vehicle with my clothes and a few personal belongings and moved somewhere to live by myself.

A year ago, on November 25th, I had the honor of marrying Heather, joining our lives and families together. However, over the past year I have been still living in NH and traveling to visit my wife and stepchildren. God has made it work, which I am very thankful for. But it’s also been a challenge to not be with my wife all the time (I kind of love her a lot!).

Then, a few weeks ago, I was offered a position at Cross Timbers church in Texas, which I accepted. So I will be moving there soon. With this new job, I will get to be with my wife permanently.

On November 1st, I will officially begin my new job. I will be stepping back into full-time ministry for the first time since 2015 (I have been doing it part-time the past several years, but this is the first time I’ll be full-time again). The past few weeks I have been getting rid of everything I own as I don’t need anything except my clothes and a few other things. And then this coming weekend I will be loading up my vehicle with my clothes and a few personal belongings and moving to TX to live with my wife.

Restore

Dictionary.com defines the word restore as “to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish” as well as “to put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc”.

As I consider the past several years, I’m amazed at how I can see that God has provided for me and guided me. Every step of the way. He has been faithful.

All the things that I am now getting rid of as I prepare to move are things that I was able to obtain in order to live and survive the past several years. When I moved out on my own, I only had a car full of clothes and a few other items. Now I have an apartment full. And everything I have is a blessing from God.

All the experiences I have had these several years, and all the people I have met, were all part of God’s guiding. I’m thankful for those who are in my life today, and for the experiences I’ve been able to have. They are all a blessing from God.

I think that often, when things don’t go the way we thought or hoped they would, we want God to restore everything quickly. We don’t want to have to make changes, or walk through difficulty.

We want restoration immediately.

But what I’ve come to realize is that the journey is part of the restoration process. It’s while we are on the journey that we grow, and it’s because of the journey that we learn to appreciate things in a deeper way.

8 years ago I packed up my car to make a big move. This coming weekend, I pack up my car to make a big move. All that happened in the in between, I would not change or redo. It was the journey God allowed me to go on, and it’s the journey that has brought me to this place now.

To God be the glory for all he has done, is doing, and is still going to do.