(a remix from the archives)
Jeff is a delightful story teller. A master really. I've always admired it. He told me stories from the first time I met him and I was as taken by them as the crowds who love his stories now.
But those stories aren't what convinced me.
Instead, I was convinced in that one moment when I said all those things.
Things I hadn't spoken in years because I was trying so hard to overcome all of my seriousness. But with him I said them.
And he was leaning in. Not pulling back.
I loved him. Right then. I know God made that so.
All the Unlikely would continue to swirl through and around us, but it was that moment (how could we have known?) that gives me chills even now.
I am so very grateful for this story, our story, that we live and tell together.
He was born to two parents who loved Jesus.
He grew up
the adorable third boy, afraid of nothing.
He climbed his
first mountain (Mt Hood) at age 5 and lived a majority of his childhood
hours and days outside. He discovered, delved, created and dared over
the beautiful forested acreage he grew up surrounded by.
Somewhere along
the way he fell in love with Jesus. Not just an obligatory confession of faith,
but an actual, “Jesus knows ME!” experience. It happened at a baseball field
and involved a dramatic home-run. He was forever changed. Forever known.
He was well
acquainted with limits. Because he loved to get right up in their face and push
through them.
He dreamed BIG
dreams. He never quit.
He learned to
seek the Lord where he played. In the forest. Among all the adventure and
freedom. He talked to God about whatever. Everything and nothing. Feeling full
confidence that he was heard and adored.
He hurt. And
fell. But he continued to pull toward the lingering, pervasive calling of his
Savior and Friend.
He always
had something to say and a story to tell.
He never
ceased leading, but was saved in the following.
She was born to two parents who loved Jesus.
She grew up
the first born of two girls.
She was cautious
and afraid of everything.
Inside was her
favorite place. Her sanctuary. She disliked the heat and wind of outside. She
had an aversion to bugs and the way dying grass crunched under her feet. She
preferred playing with dolls in the sanctity of her own space or reading books
for hours on end.
She liked to know
what to expect. She liked a plan.
She followed every rule laid in front of her with obedience and persistence. She understood
fully the concepts of right and wrong.
She never
knew life without Jesus. She was told that following him was the
right thing to do, so she obeyed.
She addressed her
Lord as she addressed life—through the rules. She sought to do what He would
want her to do. She read, studied and adhered to the regulations and
expectations laid out for her by her family and her church
community.
She came to
know Christ as a trusted and faithful friend, falling more in love with Him
as she realized how his gracious presence remained despite any errant choices
she made.
She followed obediently to the ends of the earth listening intently to the stories of others, but ultimately she discovered a most astounding
freedom that proclaimed in her own leading voice.
They were Unlikely in so many ways. Raised thousands of miles from each other, with completely different histories and communities and memories and friends.
Like dynamite they exploded intense at the counter balance of their strengths. Their early
moments together were chock full of intrigue and interest as they discovered
another one so completely different from themselves. They admired. And they were inspired.
Africa was decided
long before they ever set eyes on each other. And over many long conversations
and very many prayers, they turned their gaze together toward a faraway
continent and a way bigger than them dream.
The disparate
qualities of their home cultures threatened and taught them. But they did not have a name for it. They just saw everything from a vastly spaced
chasm—roles, rules, church, men and women. Life.
There was a
constant pull in their conversations and in their decision-making and in their
plans.
'Unlikely' was the
street named for them. Where they lived. What they were called. How
they were critiqued.
From where they
were judged.
They realized in time, that this Unlikely was not what pulled them away from each other,
but, in fact, was the force that anchored them close.
It wasn’t their
own promise that made it so (though this did matter).
It was His
promise.
For with God
nothing is ever impossible and
no word from God shall be without power or
impossible of fulfillment. Luke 1:37 AMP
In a country
called Uganda, they became Us.
And more than any
other hospitality Uganda offered, this was one of the most sacred
treasures. One of the sweetest fruits.
In that third
culture-- different from hers, different from his—they started from scratch.
Together.
And in that
wrenching, glorious transforming Uganda became their Home.
It was mercy that
brought them there. Sweet mercy.
And for far more
than the initial proclaiming they had in mind.
And they did.
(They do.)
But they learned, as they spoke His truths, that the most astounding power in His story is
how it redeems your own.
For this reason
seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ, I
bow my knees before the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is
named...Ephesians 3:14-15 AMP
And His Redemption
radiates brightest in every Unlikely place.
Now to Him Who,
by... the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry
out His purpose and] do superabundantly,
far over and above all
that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires,
thoughts, hopes, or dreams]—Eph 3:20AMP
Their very union
required His power.
May He grant you
out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in
the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and
personality].Eph 3:16AMP
His Love did what they could not.
May Christ
through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent
home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,
That you may
have the power and be strong to
apprehend and grasp with all
the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the
breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
[That you may
really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love
of Christ... Eph 3:17-19
And it was complete.
And I am
convinced and sure of this very
thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus
Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in
you. Philippians 1:6AMP
They, the Unlikely
Ones, are the Declaration.
God is Able.
