The Next Step on the Journey

For almost a year I've known something wasn't quiet right in my job. I really believe in our mission - I believe in reaching college students....none of that has changed but after being in my job for almost five years I've realized that much of what I do isn't a good fit for me. I like to start things not grow things. I like to work on projects that move the mission forward and I like to be a part of taking a big vision and putting into action. Some one told me a few months ago that I'd probably make a good CEO.

Not long after the CEO conversation, Joe Cross offered me a job working with the Mexico Focus. I'll be honest, Mexico? Leave my beloved New Orleans for Mexico? It's not exotic, it's a place that I ever thought I would be. I even remember Craig Johring telling me that he was moving to Mexico a few years ago - I thought "good for him but there's NO WAY I'd ever do that".

As it turns out, I really need to stop having these "there's NO WAY converations" with myself. After taking the season of Lent to really seek the Lord and pray, I've accepted the job with Enfoque Mexico. I'll be serving on the leadership team working with the major events next year and doing a handful of other things. It's a totally different path than I ever thought I would walk down....but when it comes down to it I'm tremendously excited about the job - about the opportunity to work alongside men who are so full of faith and believing God to transform the world's second largest city. I'm excited to try some of these gifts that I'm discovering and walk a totally different path. I'm excited to see how the Lord will provide as I walk this path.

I move into this job with great excitement but also will leave with much mourning. New Orleans has changed my entire life. I understand the gospel in ways that I never before understood it. I understand what it means to move toward the pain.....to live in the mess. I understand that life is full of brokenness and celebration....that we are called to live in the tension. New Orleans became a part of me and it is with great sadness that I will leave. It's not just the city - it's the friendships and the community. In many ways the last two years have been a dream - great community, great team relationships, great ministry, great food, great culture. Slowing down to make the decision has allowed me to feel the pain of the loss as well as the excitement of what is to come.

So I'm sitting here in Mexico City - still not quiet believing that I'm moving here....knowing that this is going to take me way out of my comfort zone - new job, new culture, new city, new language, new team. I'm not sure where this path in Mexico will lead but I know that New Orleans was a key part of the journey to take me there.

In anticipation for eating some good cajun food and chocolate cake tonight, I decided to go on an afternoon jog today. I took my usual route around the park and then up on the levee. Sunday afternoons on the levee are an event - especially when the weather is nice. I knew it was going to be packed when I was running up the hill with the same car beside me the entire times since the traffic was moving so slowly. (On a side note, the car had its windows rolled down and they were smoking pot.... second hand pot and jogging does not make for the best combination.)

The park up on the levee was indeed packed. At first I was annoyed with everyone sitting out on the sidewalk, parking their cars too closely or crowding in but since I've been reading a book about living a contemplative life, I decided to ask the Lord to open my eyes to the life around me. Wow, what beauty I miss when I'm so focused on my own comfort and convenience. Suddenly I saw everything that I love about this city. There were the college students out on blankets studying, the old men sitting and looking at the river, the kids playing football in the grass. People with sacks of crawfish sat all along the river - sharing a meal and sharing a few stories. Some one had brought a card table and a poker game was going on in the middle of the grass. 5 or 6 horses were being unloaded from a trailer and people prepared to go for a ride. Joggers and bikers were all around. People rolled their windows down and blasted music of their choice - everything from jazz to hip-hop to country. Everywhere you looked there was life and community and people who just love to slow down and spend their Sunday afternoon together. Suddenly it went from being a crowded park to a picture of everything I love about this city. I love that we take life easy - that everything isn't about being productive but slowing down and enjoying people is a value. I love that people always find a reason to celebrate the season (it's crawfish season). I love that people can be unique - I did see a guy in a band uniform with his face painted silver riding his bike through the park.

There was no "group" that claimed the park or the day. It was full of young and old, people from wealth and people who obviously had very little. Intellectual college students and little children. I usually avoid the park on beautiful Sunday afternoons because I find the crowd annoying - but as I paused and asked God to show me the park through His eyes, a whole new picture came into view. We were created for life and for celebration - to enjoy beauty, great food, music and relationships. That levee was full of all of that this afternoon. I think I miss that because I'm so focused on life being about "getting it done" and "accomplishing the mission"....not bad things but I can miss the beauty in my drivenness.

Among so many other lessons, New Orleans has given me a chance to learn to live life. I will forever thankful for the lessons of this city