Yearning

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One year ago today, Merideth and I drove into Austin, TX with our two little boys, our dog and our two cats.  

 It had been a long journey to our new town.  We were moving into a house neither one of us had seen in person, enrolling our kids in schools we knew next to nothing about, and launching a ministry with a new congregation. 

 We had no idea what to expect, but there between us there was a surge of joy at the adventure we'd begun.  And we knew that what had started us on our journey was a yearning to go where God would have us to go and do what God would have us to do. 

 That yearning for God and us in God's will has carried us through some of the most trying times of our lives.  Even in dark moments when we've very nearly felt our faith slipping away, that yearning has sustained us, and lifted us up. 

 I recently read a quote from author Josh Larsen that spoke to me profoundly.  He wrote: 

 "Yearning is perhaps our truest testimony, a constant reminder to myself that even if my faith is not something I can blindly accept, neither is it something I can blithely discard." 

 Maybe you have been struggling lately to hold on to your faith.  You might even be wondering where God is in the midst of your suffering or the suffering of the world.  

 But deep inside you have this feeling that you can't shake--a yearning, a longing for peace, hope, love and joy.  You yearn to know your place in the world.  You long for something more.  

 Hold on to that feeling with all your might.  That yearning will sustain you and keep you holding on--even when it feels like it's only by your fingertips.  

 And as you hold on with your yearnings, may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen. 

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