Not an End

I'll just start by saying these past two and a half years have been my favorite season of my life. I have grown and matured more than I could have ever imagined and I got to meet amazing people along the way. Then enters this thing called transition.

Not a fan.

Transition is just a fancy way of saying things are changing and you either get with it or you put it off but eventually have to give in anyways because it has to happen.

It's not something you can stop. A lot of the time it's not something you even see coming.

You can be living life, loving it and not wanting anything to change, and then here comes transition lurking around the corner ready to slap you upside your head, or rip the rug out from underneath you.

Sometimes, however, you know when it's coming.

Sometimes you get to see it all unfold in front of you and you get time to process.

I'm not sure if this is better or not.

Being jolted into something new is sometimes better because otherwise you probably wouldn't have chosen to do it. That's how I ended up here in the first place.

Seeing the moment of transition coming and not wanting it to happen and not being able to stop it is hard.

That's how this has been.

Two years ago someone bought the permit to the land The Station is currently located on. We've had two years to process the fact that when our lease is up at the end of this month we will be moving.

We just had our last camp on the property.

So on the last morning, I got up early and went into the lodge to pray and worship. I sat at the back and stared at all of the chairs that sat there waiting to be occupied for breakfast.

And I thought about all of the campers that have come through our doors. And then I began to thank God for all the campers who have come through our doors.

I started thanking him for my life being impacted by this small little camp with the biggest vision. I thanked him for the friends I have made and the family I have become a part of. I somehow in a matter of minutes turned my mindset from "this is the end" to "this is just the beginning."

And honestly, it's the truth.

Transitions don't necessarily mean it's an end. Sometimes things end, but for this it's just the property.

The dream hasn't died. The vision is still there. It's just the beginning of what God wants to do with The Station.

So as I sat, finally accepting this transition.

The only word I could think of was thankful.

Thankful for this place and what it means to me.

And thankful for the more to come.

Love Changes Hearts

This morning I had the opportunity to join some new friends for coffee. I had a great, slow morning and then we showed up to the coffee shop and it was like my mood immediately dropped.

I have no idea if it was the people, or just me, but seconds after walking in I just felt off.

For the past couple of weeks there was a person that I kept encountering that I struggled with a lot. They got on my nerves and they always just seemed like too much for me to handle.

Because of this and a couple of specific experiences, I kind of wrote them off. I wasn't trying to be mean, it was just how it happened.

Something in me just couldn't find it in my heart to connect. Realizing now it had nothing to do with her, but more about me and my heart.

Today at the coffeeshop, she expressed frustrations and struggles that she was having in her life and asked if we could pray for her.

I decided that I would try to pray first, and for some reason in the middle of my prayer, I felt my heart shift and I felt my mood improve.

As I was praying I realized that this woman was completely and totally loved by God. I prayed that God would bless her, fully hoping and believing that he would.

It was like as I stepped out to love on and pray for her, God was changing my heart towards her and reminding me that he loves His children, and He loves His children to love His children.

As I made the decision to love her, my heart changed.