North Carolina Keeps Calling…..
Throughout the past 24 years, I have been living out my call to ministry. At this moment, it dawned on me that North Carolina keeps calling. It seems like a lifetime since I attended Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina. Then, I felt North Carolina call again as I completed several classes at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte; now that I have become a District Superintendent, you guessed it, North Carolina called again as I am attending “DS Charm School” at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina.
As I drove into the camp, I was welcomed by the Great Smokey Mountains—the dogwoods and magnolia trees. Looking over the still water in the evening, all that can be seen are geese, the occasional rower, and an invitation. An invitation to reflect, listen, and rest in your calling.
Another enduring part of returning to North Carolina is the Southern accents. We all have accents, no matter how much we try to polish them up. Accents are simply different types of pronunciations from different regions of a country. We can learn a lot from accents: cultures, ways of life, and even the depths of one’s heart. Southern Accents is one of the great songs written by Tom Petty. “I got my own way of living, but everything gets done with a southern accent where I come from.”
Yes, where we come from is important, but so are the places we visit and experience throughout our lives. These different places provide nudges that bring us back to the center of who we are and remind us of what is important. I’m pondering some questions amid the familiar: 1) Where are we headed? Our temptation is to live in the “woulda,” “coulda,” or “shoulda.” To take up permanent residence in these places only prevent sus from being all God intends us to be. Yes, the future is scary, but not moving at all is even scarier, I think. My final question: who or what is calling you? Are we listening, listening to understand, or simply listening to respond?
May we receive and embrace the calling of our Creator to walk closer and move forward together?
Always Remember, never forget…God Loves You!!!
Tom
Jeremiah 29:11, I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. CEB
Long Talk…. 