There are lots of things that are essential in life – food, water, shelter, clothing, relationships with others.  As a Christian, there are lots of things that are essential that maybe wouldn’t be for other people – praying, reading the Bible, being involved in a church and a body of believers.  There is one that I feel like most people miss but that I believe is essential for life as a Christian – discipleship.

We strongly believe in discipleship as an essential, not just for college students, but for believers of all ages – it is not something that you grow out of, by age or by maturity. Jesus had disciples who changed the world, he instructed us to make disciples, and all throughout the New Testament, you see discipleship happening.  I don’t say all this to have a large theological discussion about whether we should disciple or what discipleship should look like practically.  I say all this to say – The lady who has discipled me the last few years has been a god-send in my life.

When we moved to Fuquay, I started being discipled by one lady, whom I absolutely adored.  When she moved, I knew that I needed to continue to be discipled – to have an older mom to ask questions to, to have someone ask me hard questions about things in my life, someone to pray for and with me, someone I could learn from as they learn from Christ, someone to answer questions I had about God, and someone to just live life with. I found that in this lady.

I am going to miss her like crazy.  She has spoken truth to me in times when I didn’t want to hear it, she has challenged me to be thankful when I didn’t feel it, she has prayed for me when I couldn’t pray for myself, she has brought me meals and special gifts when new babies were born or just because it had been a really hard day, she has texted me things she had read in the Bible that impacted her deeply and in turn, impacted me, and she has loved and encouraged me through one of the hardest seasons of our lives.  I have learned so much from her about the Bible, parenting, life lessons, grace, speaking truth, showing Christ to non-believers, and serving people in the day in and day out.  I can’t wait to see how God is going to continue to use her and I seriously cannot be more thankful for our time together than I currently am.  If you don’t have a mentor, get one!!

She gave me this sweet, sweet parting gift and it is one I will treasure forever.

I am so very, very thankful for our church, Redeemer Community Church, in Fuquay.  I am thankful for a church that truly seeks to make a difference in this community, a church that is committed to proclaiming Christ and Him crucified, and a church that desires to see each person grow in their walk with Christ.  I also have never been in a church where discipleship is happening so naturally amongst its members without anyone initiating a discipleship program.  This body of believers isn’t perfect, as no church is, but they are a great picture of the body of Christ working together to make the name of Jesus great.

There are lots of people that we will miss greatly – friends, teammates, community group people who feel like family to us and our children – and while I wish I could give a shout out to each of you, just know that you are precious to us and we are excited to visit and see you again one day soon.

And, in true tradition, of moving forward, we sold Ed’s car today.  It was such a bittersweet moment and like so many moments lately, it took all I had not to break down and cry. But, it is another step towards moving to NYC and for that we are grateful and excited.  Thanks for your prayers!