Update #8 - 7/10/23

I write this update sitting next to my freezing cold wife, whose feet, hands, knees, and head are covered in ice while she receives her second chemotherapy treatment. It has been a month of intense growth in our lives as we have begun to walk through this leg of the cancer journey. Thank you so much for walking with us!

There’s not really any corn to look at here in Florida, but this time of year I can close my eyes and see waves of it blowing in the hot, humid summer breeze. Growing up in Ohio, we have a saying that corn should be “knee-high by the 4th of July” if it’s on track for a good yield. In reality, most of the corn grown these days is actually way taller than that by July, but I digress. Have you ever walked through a field of tall, standing corn? I once tried to take a shortcut through a cornfield while out hunting. I took a good look at where I wanted to go, then set off through the rows in that direction. When I felt I had walked far enough, I still wasn’t quite there. Then when I knew I had walked much further than I should have needed to, I was still surrounded by towering stalks of corn. Eventually I did find my way to the other edge of the field, but I didn’t come out where I thought I would. In fact, my “shortcut” had somehow lengthened the distance I needed to go! I was fortunate, as I was only cutting across a corner of it, but that kind of situation is disorienting, and frankly, a bit scary.

Why am I talking about this? The Bible says that “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” We have an idea of where we want to go, and we make a plan for how we’re going to get there. But Yahweh is sovereign over the journey, and He knows not only what we need to experience along the way, but also where we actually need to end up at the end. There’s also an old saying that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, and once we exercise our agency by taking that first step, God takes control over it all. Our route, our encounters along the way, even our destination is all in His hands. And if we have been faithful to pursue His will and way, He will not abandon us along the road. Sure, at any point we can choose to give up or go our own way, and face the results of those choices, but even then He will not forsake His own.

Ok that’s enough metaphor and ambiguity. As we think ahead to the fall, the start of school next month, the events that need to be planned and all that goes into growing our church plant, it feels like we’re in the middle of that cornfield. We have some ideas of what we think we need to accomplish, but from where we are right now, we can’t see how we’re going to get there, and if we’re honest, we don’t really know if those will even end up being the things God will have us do. It’s easy to feel disoriented and afraid from where we stand today, but we know that each step in front of us is established by God, and all the things we can’t see that lie ahead are known to Him and will be divine appointments for us.

I can’t even begin to tell of the ways God is using so many of you to carry us along. The blessings are too many to count, and overwhelm us with reminders of God’s love and care. We treasure each card, gift, and message in our hearts. It has been so beautiful to share with our girls some of the ways that God has directed you to supply our needs. You should’ve seen their faces when we told them that Delaware Bible Church is helping raise money to buy us a van! Know that God is using it all not only to meet our needs and encourage us, but also to establish a firm foundation in the hearts of five young girls who have front-row seats to watch the Most High God stoop down and care for their needs.

Praise the Lord that “YAHWEH is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want”!