The Tree of Life

This morning we had the joyous privilege of participating in the wedding ceremony of Beth and Taylor, two single adults who are a part of our team here in NOLA. It was a beautiful day and an awesome wedding. The ceremony took place under this tree in a big Park here in New Orleans. The tree was called "The Tree of Life" and it was magnificent!!! It was probably 16-20 ft. in diameter and its huge branches reached down to the ground and was actually sprouting new trees. It is one of the coolest trees I have ever seen.

After the wedding Silas decided to climb the tree... well one of the branches anyway. You can see his face on the left there. He was so confident when he started. He had seen some of the other boys climbing it and wanted to do it as well, but when he got to be about 5-6' off the ground he began to freeze up and say he couldn't go any further. It wasn't until I took his hand and gave him some encouraging words that he was able to go past this point in climbing this awesome tree! Look at what Ephesians says in Chapter 3:16-19 -

"¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

To be honest, the last couple of months have been really exciting for us, but they have also been really scary for us. We have seen and talked to so many people that have left all the security of life to go to a place that God was calling them. We have seen God do amazing things in their lives, and like Silas seeing the other boys climb, we wanted to follow God where He was leading us. We got really excited, packed up our house, and quit our jobs and began the trek to New Orleans. Once we got into it though, I personally lived with a lot of fear. I had thoughts like: "What have I done to my family?" "What if it doesn't work out?" "What if people don't get the vision and support us?" "What if God wasn't talking, and it was just me?" It wasn't until people like you began giving us your hand so to speak, that we began having real confidence in what God was calling us to do. We have had people come alongside us and give us encouraging words, financial support, notes of gratitude and thanks, we have received phone calls (which I like a lot), and we have been prayed for by so many people.

This wedding today was such a beautiful picture of this for me as well. Here are two people totally sure they want to be together and they have seen other marriages work and they want that too. On the flip side though, we were there because we know that there will not only be smiles and joy in that marriage. There will be heartbreak and sadness. There will be misunderstandings and hard times. Those of us who came to witness the ceremony were also there to say, "Take my hand, we want to walk this journey with you. We want to encourage and help you on this new adventure."

So here we are in New Orleans. We have been here a week and the thing that I have thought about the most was not unpacking boxes, or figuring out where the store is so we can eat, although those are important things. The thing I thought about the most was how confident I was in the Lord because there are so many people who are holding our hands and praying for us and routing for us as we step out on faith on this new adventure. So I would like to say a big THANK YOU friends, family, prayer warriors, financial supporters, for being that hand that has given us the reassurance that the climb may be scary, but we won't fall and we won't be alone. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

Before I end this short epistle of gratitude, there are two people that I really want to say thank you to. They have sacrificed their space, their food, their time, and their lives to make our first month of this journey a success and a beautiful launching pad for the coming months and years. Thanks, Mom and Dad Collie, for all the little things you did and sacrificed for us to be in this place now. We love you and are proud to call you not only family, but friends!!! Thanks for holding our hand and giving us confidence in the Lord God Almighty!!! Cheers!!!