I would have never expected to be where I am today. This would not have been the choice I had envisioned during my career pursuing my American Dream.
In 1971, just before high school graduation, I became a Jesus follower, some say an apprentice. This decision changed the trajectory of my life. After graduation, I was lost as to what vocation I would enter. In my indecisiveness I landed a job as a “groundsman” on a tree crew for a year, (think manual labor dragging tree limbs to the back of a brush chipper).
Working on the tree crew and living according to my new faith would have a profound impact as I grew in my 20’s. I would have never imagined a five-decade career in the “green industry”, nor that I would still be following Jesus.
Starting at the bottom of the “green Industry” put me on the lowest rung of the success ladder, in an industry that eats up and spits out new recruits at an alarming rate. But, lacking choices or vision (this was the height of the 1970’s recession), I stuck with it and worked my way up to crew chief and eventually management.
On a parallel track as a “baby believer”, knowing next to nothing of doctrine or dogma, I grew incrementally in my faith. A confused kid with some ambition but little direction.
As I reflect back, it’s nice for older people to reflect, I realize there were no accidents during my journey. Ernest Hemingway once said, “at the most important crossroads in our life, there are no signs”. Oh yes, there were plenty of hard stops, U turns, and an occasional right turn, but no accidents. Each decision, each blunder on my part had purpose, had meaning.
The skill sets you pick up in life, by design or, as in my case, by chance, in some small, fragmented way, prepared me for the next step, the next adventure.
That’s where I find myself today, after a long and satisfying career and a long walk of faith, I’m packing up my belongings for central Africa, for a new position helping a pastor friend to plant churches, change lives and communities in rural Uganda. This was beyond my wildest dreams.
Do we all experience fears when making big decisions? Of course, we do. That’s why they are called big decisions. But, after making big decisions for decades, some good, and some not so much, I am becoming more confident taking those “leaps of faith” when I can’t see the safety net below.
Here I am, not where I expected to be today. Mary and I have made a long-term commitment to our friends in Uganda, our next journey. We will keep you posted on how this adventure is going. Opening ourselves up to unimaginable possibilities has been frightening and transformative simultaneously.
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