A little tribute.

This season of full time rest is coming to a close. I am so thankful for a few months to rest and recover. Next Friday, Lord willing, I will be on the road back to the middle of the USA- the Bridge to the Nations.
I am approaching this with relief, excitement and a bit of uncertainty as I have no idea what this coming year holds..beyond being faithful where He has asked me to be- and He who calls is SO faithful.
As I look back on the past 3 1/2 months, I've had much time to reflect, to process and to spend time with people I love and cherish.
Today was the celebration of the life of someone who, though not an real uncle, was much like one to me. My dad's cousin Karl. He's with Jesus now, his journey is done. So tonight I thought I would honor him by sharing some of thing things I learned through the years from Karl and his wife, Becky. Some of my earliest memories are from being at the their house. It always feels like home there.
When I was about 12 I got to go to the church Youth Bible Study. He lead the study with my dad. Not too many years later they moved on from the church and went to a different one. But over the years Karl and Becky stayed in many ways as spiritual pillars in my life. It didn't matter that we worshiped inside of different walls on sunday morning. When my friends and I started a Bible study, they cheered us on-even hosted a few in their home. And then when we felt like we were supposed to run a camp for the local youth, to give them an opportunity to experience what we had been discovering going deep in God's word,  Karl and Becky (along with my mom and dad) were some of the few who stood by us through it and believed in what God wanted to do. When you have people who believe in you-so much is possible. Karl believed in people and he and Becky are also bridge builders- they've paved the way for a lot of people to run the race successfully-loving Jesus all the way. I learned not to shrink back from being obedient to Jesus. And that it is possible to maintain relationships in a culture where relationships often got severed when there were differences. Life's too short for that.
Maybe this is a little my way of processing for tonight...thanks for joining me...love well my friends. Leave a legacy of love and joy and purpose.