Clearing away ....

Recently Sanctuary Inn has purchased property near Mt. Hood in Oregon. The property is beautiful -- trees, open field, river front and some trails down to the river. 

As I have descended (and ascended) the trails several times I have noticed that because of their years in the forest they have become overgrown with vines, covered in dirt and in places are not well-defined. 

Because I enjoy working outside I have slowly started the restoration of these trails. And it is slow going. A few steps a day. Clearing away dirt, ivy, forest debris and trying to excavate the trail and restore it near to its original condition. 

At Sanctuary Inn our goal is to participate with God and His Kingdom workers to grow in wholeness and heal from brokenness. 

Working on these trails is giving me some insights about healing and restoration. 

I can see that as I work on the trail I have to clear away years of debris, dirt and invasive plants. These things (as "foresty" as they are) actually obscure the trail and in some places make the trail unsafe. 

The beginning of renewal and restoration involves this clearing away process. What has "grown over" my heart or what have I allowed in my life that obscures what once was there? What things have I let go or left untended that are creating situations in my life that are unsafe -- for the missionary or his family? 

Also, in my trail excavation, much of the trail looks worse now, but I know it will look better in the future. As I reveal the original steps and the hidden rock borders, I have to cut away a lot of plant life and remove a lot of dirt. This leaves the trail looking better but the sides of the trail look pretty raw. 

Likewise, in dealing with issues of restoration, life can look worse before it looks better. Dealing with issues is very necessary, but the immediate outcome isn't always pleasant to look at. "Excavation of the soul" will leave our heart in a better place, but it might not look that way right now. There will be raw edges, rough places, unfinished business; ultimately it is for soul-health, but it might not be pretty right now. 

And the simple act of doing the work is the beginning. I could leave the trails as they are; untended, pretty good to look at, but actually they are not doing or being everything they were intended. I know that the original owner of our property was a very wealthy Portlander who took great pride in the landscape of their place. It was her retreat, her "Eden". 

By me doing the work to restore the trails, I am honoring the intent of the original owner. I am seeking to bring back the beauty that once was and was intended for the property. 

When we do the hard work of soul-care then we are honoring God our Creator -- the God who originally put us in Eden with the intent that we would reflect Him forever. Now, in our damaged and sinful selves, we have to work hard to honor the original intent of the Creator, the God who desires that people see His image and His glory in us. For us to reveal this glory and for others to see it, we have to be diligent about clearing away all of those things that have obscured what He intended. 

Darkness has fallen ... I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow to continue this process of glorious excavation! 

Meanwhile, Thirty Years Later ....

It's funny how things can go in cycles.

Here we are, June of 2016, packing up our worldly possessions and getting ready to move ... but we don't know to where. The ministry we have been doing for ten years is changing and God has opened the door for us to begin a brand new ministry, but the location has not yet been determined. Our oldest son is living with us and he is impacted by this move because it means he needs a place to live as well -- probably not where we will be living.

In June of 1986 our oldest son wasn't yet two years old and Joann was pregnant with our second child. We had just been "invited to resign" from a youth ministry position (did I say that politely enough?). We were living in a town that we enjoyed and we were feeling good about the ministry that was happening in the lives of the young people at church as well as many of those at the local high school. Seemingly, out of the blue, it all came to a screeching halt ... and we were faced with a move, but we didn't know to where.

Through the gracious invitation of a friend from our youth ministry life we were invited to work for the summer at a large denominational camp. We were no strangers to camp life having already done two other summers of camp ministry prior to taking our current youth ministry position. We were set for the summer: housing, food and an opportunity to continue in ministry. But what about September?

The summer was great -- good friends and fun at camp (who doesn't love camp?). And somewhere in the time at camp, I can't even remember the sequence of events, a friend I had gone to bible school with invited us to live with him and his wife in their large house in SE Portland. Interesting side note: his wife was also pregnant, due pretty soon after Joann! What could be better? Two college friends, two pregnant wives and a toddler?

Well, it really did go great. The time together went well and through several different series of events I ended up working full time for a local bank, we rented an apartment (later we were able to rent a lovely house) and this whole sequence put things in motion for us to move overseas a few years later.

Now, it seems we are back in a similar spot. Today there are four kids, three of them are married. We have a grandson, soon to be joined by a granddaughter and we are near that time when I think you are supposed to retire and play with your grand kids. But God has given us an opportunity to start something brand new.

We know that because of the kindness of a friend we have a place to live when we move in a few weeks, but we don't know much besides that. God has a hope and a future for us --  we are very confident of how He has led to this point -- but there are things that we cannot see just yet.

I haven't even looked into the possibility of camp yet!

The Gift of Time

There is so much I haven't told you ....

Anyway, the ministry location we are at is closing down and we are in search of a new ministry location. In the meantime we have started a brand new ministry, but until it finds its new "home" we are in the proverbial state of "limbo".

I realized today that the gift of "limbo" is that I have time to do things that I neglect too often. Time to write. Time to read. Time to stop and think about more than the next 20 minutes.

The irony in this is that the focus of our new ministry is helping people to take the time they need to process life. Time to think, to reflect, to slow down and deal with more than the next 20 minutes.

I hope that in this time you hear from me more regularly. I am looking forward to reading books that have been piling up as well as taking time to listen to podcasts that help me think more clearly about our future and our plans. These are all good things -- too long neglected.

Let's hear it for the gift of time!