A most needed encouragement

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet a couple of guys from Vancouver, B.C. They were coming to participate in a guest build we had at all three locations. It was designed for individuals to participate without being part of a team. Over the course of a weekend I got to know these two guys (Mike and Luke), and they ended up being one of the biggest encouragements I've had in a long time.

Mike and Luke are both young (30 and 24) professionals in the business world. After hearing more about their daily lives, it began to come clear to me that what they were describing was a life I once wanted. Mike and Luke were both very modest about there status, but it was evident that they not doing too bad for themselves. Mike works for a small network of a Father and his Sons that own a conglomerate of companies including the Vancouver Canucks, and Luke just bought his father's restaurant supply and design business and a couple restaurants that came with it.

One of the night while they were here they took Elizabeth and I out to dinner just to "hang out." Over the course of our conversation, I found myself wishing that I had pursued that path, that I was on my way to a "successful" life. I starting thinking of how I could still attain that vision, how I could be a "self made man." I began to make plans in my head to continue my education, who I could contact, where I would live, and I got so wrapped up in it. I confessed this to my new friends and I got the exact response that I needed. Laying in bed this morning around 5 for some reason the words were resounding in my head, "this is what it's all about." The words are not eloquent, but none the less profound. I know that he wasn't referring to the night, or the restaurant, or the fellowship, but to what I have devoted my life to. With his simple words he edified what I know in my heart but sometimes not in my head. He was saying that "yeah, building a kingdom according to the world's system seems appealing, but building a kingdom for God as he commands us to through his word IS what it's all about."

Being here for almost a year now, and having an active thought life about the future it's easy for me to get off track quickly, to day dream about the "American Dream." It's times like this that enable me keep going with confidence, that remind me of God's promises, that re-ignite my passion for serving "a larger picture." So thank you Mike for reminding me that my world is bigger than trying to attain what I can for MYself, and that God's promise for what I'm doing is larger than anything this world has to offer.