The Road Home from Nashville

Wow! It has been a while since the last time I wrote a blog!

This year has seemingly flown by, but it has been a massively full year! With some transitional things going on with our church group in Memphis, to spending more and more time with saints from the NC Micro Group we are part of. With my family pursuing the adoption of our daughter Amiya from China, which by the way is getting close to us traveling (squeal!), including all the blessings that this journey has brought with it has all been overwhelming!! To say that God has had our backs this year would be an understatement! The outpouring of love and charity shown to us by friends and perfect strangers alike has been otherworldly, literally. There have been many events that have brought us to our knees in thankfulness to our Lord, who I believe has been guiding us through this process much like He has always guided His people throughout history, ever faithful, never-changing.

I was driving home from Nashville today, returning from our company year-end meetings, and I was listening to sermonindex.net for a while before selecting some music on Pandora.com (those that know me know music always has a way into my depths). Anyways, the first song to come on had the following lyrics in its chorus: “Mercy, weep over me, let Your tears wash me clean. Majesty, be merciful with me, for my eyes have seen Holy”.

That last phrase “…my eyes have seen Holy”, stuck with me for the remaining two hours of my ride home. I just kept recollecting all the “Holy” I’ve witnessed this year alone! I wanted to list some of them here.

The word, “holy” itself is defined as dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred. divine. It appears however, that the song writer is using this word more like a noun, thus “Holy” could be considered Christ himself. 

I have witnessed “Holy” in the saints that I’ve grown with since I was a young boy. Saints who have literally left everything to dedicate themselves to Christ’s teachings. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the many men who mentored me in my youth, being examples of what a disciple of Christ should look like. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in my parents relentless pursuit of that “treasure buried in a field”. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in my former boss, who countless times and without saying anything would pay all his employees, often leaving hardly anything left for his own family’s needs. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the church who would do anything to minister to its members, even if they are literally living in tents and gutted school buses on a cow pasture. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the celebration that ensues at the passing of an old friend and fellow disciple, who gets to “go home” and be with our Heavenly Father. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the legacy said friend leaves behind. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the small group meetings we’ve been participating in this past year at Neighborhood Church and the young, yet sincere, growing friendship and dedication to each other and our Master. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in our pursuit of adoption. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the other adoptive families that we’ve been so honored to meet, couples who are really deserving of having their feet washed and just generally getting smothered in God’s grace and love for all their devotion to their adopted & fostered children. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in my beloved wife, who has tirelessly worked on every detail to hasten bringing our daughter home. Getting to watch how much her faith has increased in such a short period of time has been among the greatest pleasures of mine this year! I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the assistance we’ve gotten with the groanings of conquering habitual and lacking parenting techniques with our sons, preparing for the addition to our family. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the innocence of a little boy I know named Eliyah. I’ve witnessed “Holy” in the new friends that we are getting right in our own neighborhood!

These and many more recollections, clouded my vision today through tears of gratefulness on the road home from Nashville.

Peace be with you all and Merry Christmas!