in the land of humans


retired abc news anchor peter jennings once said that every time he picked up a coin he instinctually wanted to turn it over. i think this is just another way of saying the old cliche', the grass is always greener on the other side. was the eagle on the back of the quarter any more intriguing, any more beautiful than george washington's face? no, but the anticipation or want for it to be so was enough that he wanted to turn it over anyway. so i imagine, there he sat as i sit here now, able to see both sides of the quarter, sure now that there are, indeed, two sides to every coin, but also sure that it's still worth 25 cents in the end.

for eight months i succumbed to the same temptation. i saw one chapter of my life coming to an end, and looked for another field where the grass might be greener. a path that contained fewer footsteps. i told myself that the new adventure of helping to build a foundation from the ground up would contain fewer frustrations than the old, broken home i was leaving behind. it was a challenge. and at times it was fun. but i was missing the point. in the land of humans, you are building with bricks that have holes in them, flaws that people will bring to the party no matter if they are "church people" or not. and thus, after eight months, i return home today with a new lease on life. i am lucky to feel this way at 29. had i not followed my heart, who knows when i would have felt this alive. i thank chris for providing the means to this end and sarah and hannah for supporting me along the way.

i always "knew" the grass wasn't really greener on the other side, but now i know it. and i plan to use that knowledge as God would lead me to. who knows what that means. i am certain, though, that it will not always be comfortable. but it shouldn't be, right andy? again, i thank you for allowing me to feel that i am working for the right team even if "church people" won't always make eye contact with me or my family.

in the land of humans, by God's grace, we are all coins that have many different sides, opinions, experiences, traditions, and flaws, but in the end no life is worth more than the next.

let the games begin.