My Epic Journey

I know it has been some time since I have last blogged.  I apologize for that.  BUT (I know it is a big but), BUT, we are in the process of moving.  Actually, on January 5th we will be packing up two moving trucks and moving an hour south to Delaware, OH where I am currently serving as Pastor of Student Ministries in an amazing church just north of Columbus.As I sit here I am shocked as I recall that we have moved 9 times in the 10 years we have been married (My 10 year anniversary with Anna is February 28th).  Though that sounds bad it is not as bad as it looks.  We ahve lived in four different places but have had to move and remove as we have had to wait for houses to be sold.

I do realize though, that God has gifted us with a sense of adventure.  And boy am I glad!  It’s not that it isn’t difficult but it is something God has called us to do.

Anyway,  I am sorry for waiting so long to write.  Good news though, my New Year’s resolution is–to blog more frequently!!!!

In EPIC (the student ministry of Grace Point Community Church), we have been journeying through a series titled, Encounters:  expecting the unexpected.  We have looked at God-encounters with man such as Zaccheus and the Woman at the Well.  Last week we talked Mary’s encounter with God as she was approached by an angel, Gabriel and told she would have the most intimate encounter of God ever–the birth mother of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

WOW!!  What it must have been like for Mary to have that encounter and all that she had to wrestle with concerning this new path in her life.

We often think about Jospeh, her soon to be husband, and what it must of felt like for Mary to have to talk to Joseph about her new role in life.  But what about Mom and Dad?  What were they thinking?  If Mary was aroudn the age of 12-14, as most biblical historians believe, than she would have most definitely been living still at home when this took place.  Did she tell her Mom and Dad about the encounter?  What did she tell them about the reason for leaving to Elizabeth’s and eventually with Joseph to Bethlehem?  What was their reaction?

All these questions intrique me.  Actually, so much so that I posed the question to Terry, our senior pastor, who has a 13-year-old daughter, “What would your response be in this situation?”

Though I enjoy and grapple with the thought, I always come back to the fact that Jesus came to this earth with a humble beginning with the help of a humble girl who simply wanted God’s will for her life.

What an amazing thought!