Maps and Legends

 

We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  2 Corinthians 5:20

I work for an brokerage firm here in Knoxville and am blessed to be part of an awesome team that extends to Lexington, KY, Atlanta, GA to Nashville, TN and beyond.   While I’d like to think that 26 years of benefits experience has made me proficient in cranking out renewal/marketing analysis comparisons in Excel or whipping up presentations in PowerPoint, I must admit that I had quite a difficult time constructing a feasibility analysis  for a client recently. 

I won’t bore you with the details of the analysis, but the one thing I realized is that no graph, chart or analysis, as simple or as detailed as they come, is readable without a proper legend and/or markers. 

The same holds true for our lives.  You see, just like a graph with an understandable legend, we too are to lead others into a relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, by the way we live our lives.  If our legends and markers don’t include kindness, gentleness, patience, generosity, and love, then how can anyone possibly distinguish us as believers from the rest of the world?

We must allow God to shape our lives in such fashion that our lives guide others towards Christ.

Graduate

 

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:13-14

I am so very proud of our oldest son, Elliott, and all of his friends as they prepare to graduate from Hardin Valley Academy this evening.  We have had a great weekend celebrating Elliott with family and friends and just
witnessing the excitement from these young men and women reminded me of how I once felt graduating from high school; the excitement mixed with a little fear of the unknown about college and beginning a new chapter in my life...

I remember it like it was yesterday when I graduated from Springwood School back in 1993.  Those were certainly some exciting and memorable times.  I had been accepted to Auburn University and the one thing I knew for sure was the size of the college campus was 20 times bigger than what I was accustomed to at my small private school.  My orientation was interesting as I was bunched in with several hundred freshman and we all were given a tour of the campus.  We also attended a class to prepare us for the days that were to come. We learned how to register for classes, where to eat on campus, how to find the library, and were issued our student tickets for football, baseball, and basketball. 

When all of the student body had returned from summer break, the parking situation was pure madness and I felt a bit lost among the throngs of students on campus.  No matter how early I left for classes, I could never seem to find a parking space, so I racked up several parking violations my first quarter and my parents were not happy with me, to say the very least.  To be quite honest, the orientation was helpful, but I had to learn an awful lot as I went along.  I pledged a fraternity my first quarter and many of my Pi Kappa Phi brothers helped teach me what I needed to know about college life on The Plains.

While high school graduation is the end of a chapter of a young man or woman’s life, it is by no means their final destination.  Even after college, when the milestones are fewer and far between, we must all learn to ‘press on’ toward the goal that Paul mentioned in the above letter to the Philippians. 

As followers of Christ, we must make a daily commitment to walk with the Lord, understanding that we will never learn too much by attending church or reading Scripture to earn a diploma of sorts.  Regardless, we can be at peace knowing where our final destination is-heaven, and that is the ultimate goal/prize for all believers in Jesus Christ!

Wait For You

 

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.  Psalm 37:5

The older I become, the more I understand that God's ways are not my ways and that I sometimes must wait patiently before He sends His blessings.  Our boys are growing up way too fast...Elliott will be graduating from high school in a few days while Elijah is finishing his freshman year and is quickly approaching his 16th birthday this August. 

When I stop to look back at how fast time has flown by, it has made me acknowledge the season of waiting I was in for the better part of the boys' first years on this earth.  

Five months into 2026, and during this crazy busy time both personally and professionally, I am now in a much different season now as a father, but I have learned yet another valuable lesson in learning to trust God fully and completely while patiently waiting for His many blessings.

When we refuse to trust God with our needs, we will continue to live in panic, chaos, and fear because we do not cry out to the One who can meet our needs.  Jesus' disciples learned to trust Him on the Sea of Galilee during a frightening storm that had each one convinced that they would not survive.  Jesus walked across the water and commanded the storm to be still and the sea quickly became calm again.

If you do not trust the Lord, then who do you trust?  Jesus is waiting with His arms outstretched for you and will lift you up despite the tempestuous circumstances you may find yourself facing.