Today I turn 35 years old. It really doesn’t seem like I should be this age. I feel like I’ve lived a dozen lifetimes in these 35 years. I’ve been pretty fortunate and blessed to have had lots of really interesting experiences so far. There have been too many to name, but a few highlights are:
- Being baptized on my 15th birthday in 1992
- Seeing and climbing the Chocolate Hills of Bohol, Philippines
- Watching a sea turtle lay its eggs at night in Ostional, Costa Rica
- Celebrating Easter at sunrise on a beach in the Philippines
- Swimming in the Caribbean after hiking through a rain forest in Bocas del Toro, Panama
- Having a song dedicated to me by Ralph Stanley at a bluegrass festival
- Celebrating my 22nd birthday in the Philippines with two cakes
- Looking out over the cities of Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas from the mountaintop home of a Mexican friend after building a house for a family in Juarez
- Going to the summit of and looking into the craters of two active volcanoes and watching another spew lava at night, in Costa Rica
I’ve had some pretty cool experiences in my life, and God is the one to thank for the opportunities. Following Jesus hasn’t always been easy, and in fact, it can be rather difficult. One of my favorite lines in a Caedmon’s Call song is “I had to walk the rocks to see the mountainview; looking back I see the lead of love.” Many people think that when one decides to follow Jesus that life becomes perfect. Sometimes we get dashed against those rocks, but that just makes the mountaintop view that much sweeter. Rich Mullins called God’s love a “reckless, raging fury.” Being loved is hard, but it’s worth it. I know I’m loved, even when I don’t feel like I am. I don’t know how many more years I’ll walk this earth, but for as long as I do, I’ll do my best to follow Jesus. I am His.
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