So it begins…

“The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭121:7-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

First blog. Flight.

It’s 12:52 Toronto time. We are over the ocean, the southern edge of Greenland is north of us. In London it is 5:54 am.

The hardest part of travel for me is the waiting. Once the packing is done, and everything is ready to go, all that remains is a long and nervous wait to begin. As soon as I had called my Uber, I was ready. The traveling part had begun. And though there were still nerves, they were secondary to the excitement of having begun. Of moving forward.

Now all is quiet. My fellow travelers are seeking some rest. I am no longer vibrating with nervous tension. I’m ready. Ready to endure the flight. Ready to begin our adventure. Ready to make more memories and to gather more stories to tell.

I’m always aware of the stories. Already, there is the story of my Uber driver through whom I was able to pass a message to a seminary classmate of mine, whom I haven’t seen in more than 10 years. God is in the details.

And the story of the groom from a wedding I performed last year, who made sure that my roomie for the tour and I received champagne and treats on the flight. God is good. All the time.

I’m endlessly intrigued by the thought that the good you do comes back to you in a thousand ways you could never imagine. I’ve been reminded of that twice already.

Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.

That was the rallying cry of Coach Taylor on Friday Night Lights, and it fits as the rallying cry of Christians everywhere. Let our eyes be clearly focused on God. Let our hearts be full of the sacrificial, life-giving, transformative, love of Jesus. And we can’t lose.

Amen, and let’s go!!