How Did We Get Here?

Pat and I have known each other for about 12 years, been married since 2000, have 4 children, and moved nine times bouncing around six different cities in the Carolinas. So how DID we get here?

Well, as our history has shown, "here" is revealing our belief that home truly is where the heart is. Our journey started out as newlyweds living with my parents in Rock Hill, SC who quickly had one then two beautiful children. In December 2002, we hastily packed our little family up and moved to Wake Forest, NC for Pat to embark on an education to prepare him for ministry. We didn't last long and after three short months we were spiritually and financially strapped and we ran to the first open door: a tiny little non-denominational church in a tiny little town in SC. We served there for a year, saw God start working, and that door was slammed in our face so we skirted across the county line and served in a little bit bigger southern baptist church in a little bit bigger town.

God richly rewarded our ministry there, grew the church, and gifted us with many opportunities to grow. Two years after arriving there, God drew us to minister to a church split just over the county line again so off we went and God birthed a new little southern baptist church and another beautiful addition to our family. It wasn't long before we realized that, though we were serving God, we were skirting around his ever-present call to education so, after a year serving and watching God grow this church plant, we packed back up and headed back to Wake Forest, NC for Pat to continue his then half-completed education.

Fast-forward from then in 2007 to now and God has brought us, with much support, through spiritual, emotional, and financial devastation. Jobs came and went for both of us, we have been blessed by one last beautiful addition, our marriage withstood much stress and strain from finances, relational distance, and more, but God saw us through it all and has restored us to be steadfast, humble, faithful servants of God and each other.

By the grace of God, Pat is on track to graduate in December with his Bachelor of Arts in Christian Studies with a minor in History. Praise the Lord. So now we have the fun job of discerning what's next and we're excited.

_Moose Tracks_

Wayne Stiles wrote a little devotional book entitled, "Going Places With God." Well, as noted above, my family and I have gone places--a lot of places. Often, people will ask me, "Pat, why have you moved so much?" Honestly, I don't have an answer that satisfies many who ask the question. But the answer is and always has been, "wherever the Lord leads, we'll go." Some of my friends that I have attended College @ Southeastern with are serving right now all over the world: Turkey, Malaysia, France, China, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic just to name a few. These friends of mine have gone all over the world to serve God because they believe that He has called them to go and they obey the call on their lives to serve.

Though there has been continual change in our lives, there has been one constant: The Lord God is with us and He has never forsaken us. You could say that the presence of God has been the fuel to our fire to stay faithful to Christ and His gospel and to keep following wherever the Lord leads. Through all of the moving, there has been doubt, anger, frustration, worry, fear, marital struggles, financial struggles, and physical struggles, etc. Yet, there has been new friendships made, victories over sin, miracles witnessed, lives changed for the glory of God, and a peace that surpasses all our comprehension. God has indeed been and still is with us! For that, we rejoice evermore. So, even after I graduate in December, my answer will still be, "Wherever the Lord leads, we'll go." It's worth being in His presence. Amen.