A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated my 54th trip around the sun, and it has been every bit as eventful as all the others. I shared some thoughts on social media and thought I’d expand on those a bit and share them here since I’ve been intentionally quiet here on my site in recent months. That’s not to say there hasn’t been a lot going on…Lord knows there certainly has! Through everything, God has blessed my family and me in ways great and small. As I’ve been reflecting recently and spending time alone with the Lord deep in prayer, several themes seem to keep surfacing. If I may briefly share:
—The profound importance of time spent in prayer, developing and maintaining my personal relationship with God. Especially in recent days, I have drawn strength and comfort and found that it has been easy to cast my cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7), understanding that it is God who comforts me and provides the sense of peace I felt so strongly that has surpassed all understanding (Philippians 4:6–7).
—The profound goodness of God and His endless grace, who, in His sovereignty, chooses to use individuals, regardless of their past or shortcomings, to fulfill His divine purposes. Not only are prodigals welcomed home and celebrated (Luke 15:11–32), but they are used by God for His glorious purposes. The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 1:15. “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am the worst of them.” This acknowledgment serves not only as Paul’s confession but also as a testament to the fact that no one is beyond the reach of God’s saving grace and call to His service.
—The profound blessings poured out upon my life that I have often described as approaching the absurd. What I mean by that is the sheer scale and nature of these blessings defy logical explanations. Serving in a pastoral role, I have witnessed some powerful transformations in the lives of those I’ve ministered to over these years, to be sure, but that’s not what I’m talking about. It is my own transformation where God took an undiscipled young believer, called me into a deeper relationship with Him, placed amazing people in my life, taught me to trust in His provision and grace, and called me to serve Him where I’d help lead others to do the same.
Along the way, I’ve had the joy of being connected to so many amazing people! I’ve said often it’s almost ridiculous the people God brings into my life that I get to meet, interact with, and often quietly have an ongoing relationship with. His goodness is boundless, and in this season, we continue to see it on display. Next week, our daughter will graduate from Truett McConnell University. That will be our second TMU bear, and we couldn’t be prouder. On top of that, she is engaged to be married in June.
I mentioned on social media that I’ll share some thoughts on a remarkable conference I was blessed to have a very small part in recently, so be on the lookout for that in the next few days. I also hope to have a professional update to share soon, but we’re not quite there just yet. Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re not busy! We’ve got a graduation cruise coming up and the Southern Baptist Convention next month.
