Finish the Book!
Growing up I did not really enjoy reading. I equate that to being forced to read as a kid for school. I vividly remember my parents forcing me to read a book that I had to write a report on
Finish the Book!
Growing up I did not really enjoy reading. I equate that to being forced to read as a kid for school. I vividly remember my parents forcing me to read a book that I had to write a report on. The only problem is we were on a trip driving through the mountains of Colorado and I was in the back seat on mountain roads. The book was about ants and how to start an ant farm (which I did, by the way, until the dog accidently knocked it over causing the dirt and ants to go all over the house). I can remember the cover of the book to this day. Not because it was a beautiful picture but because of what happened next.
I read each chapter as quickly as I could as I was jostled around from one side of the car to the next (this was pre-seatbelt days where riding in the back seat was an adventure) and then I would pause to write a short paragraph about what I had read. Then back to reading. Then back to writing. Then back to reading. And then back to writing... one chapter at a time until finally I was finished. What an accomplishment. My parents told me when I was done reading we would stop for dinner wherever I want.
Finished! I was so hungry. “Where do you want to eat, Brice?” TACO BELL! I don’t remember what I ordered, but I know it was a lot. And the only reason I know that is because about 10 minutes after I ate it, most all of it came back up all over me, the back seat, and that stupid ant book! Note to self: Don’t read in the back seat of your car in the mountains because if you tend to get car sick. Then definitely celebrate finishing the book with a Mexican Fiesta with extra sauce and cheese. After getting myself cleaned up, I remember having to clean up that ant book since I had to return it to the school library for some other poor kid to have to read, unbeknownst to him that it had been puked on.
I learned another life lesson that day. Don’t rush through the book. Instead, let each chapter settle. You have to finish one chapter at a time and then move on to the next so that eventually you can finish the book, preferably without puking all over yourself.
Well, it’s time to close another chapter on my book of life that has been being written over the past nearly 18 years of my life. It has been a great chapter with tons of celebration, happiness, friends, growth, drama, tragedy, fear, anxiety, love, birth, death, struggles, anticipation, wondering, and everything that the best of novels has to offer. On Wednesday, June 30, 2021 I will close my chapter of working at and being a pastor at Crosspoint Church in northwest Florida.
To say that this chapter hasn’t been one of the best ever would be an understatement. It was a restart to life for me. I got married here. We started a family here. Ministry flourished here while I was in Niceville and while I was in Crestview. I got to see thousands of people give their life to Christ. I got to meet some of the best people in the world and to grow in my leadership and influence because of them. I was able to partner with people globally to make a greater Kingdom impact. One of the most exciting things was I got to see both of my children accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior and grow to have a heart of service and ministry for the bigger church and their community and world. I was able to truly begin the healing process in my life from my past hurts, and use that pain for a deeper passion in ministry and life. I have a very long way to go but I am so much farther than where I was. Crosspoint became our home and our family. I have had my struggles continuing to deal with past demons of my life, having them rear their heads in new ways causing me to stumble and fall at times, but I am thankful for a church and friends who have stood with me at every turn and helped me get back up and keep walking. It has been a great chapter, but it is time to close it to open the next one. You can’t finish the book until you finish the chapter and start the next one.
I have been asked at least a couple hundred times: “What are you going to do next?” My response has been the exact same: I HAVE NO IDEA. I haven’t opened that chapter yet. I have dreams and aspirations. I have hopes and ideas. I have NO anxiety or worry about it and I know God is going to start writing an incredible script that will bring about more happiness, joy, laughter, dreams, peace, love, tragedy, tears, life, death, smiles, and all the other things that make up the best of novels. What will I be doing during all that? Enjoying the journey and simply working through another chapter until my book is complete.
I have grown to learn it is not so much what you do, but how you do it that makes a bigger impact for the Kingdom and adds value and worth to your life and to the lives of others. I don’t know what I will do, but I know how I will do it! Don’t rush through the chapters of life… it might make you puke! Pause between paragraphs so you can appreciate the story, share it with others, and then listen to their story. Make the font a little larger (not like old people GIANT print, just bigger) so you don’t have to strain looking at life so much. Leave some margin on the page so life is readable. Don’t be afraid of putting the book down for a while and thinking about what you are doing and why you are doing it. And please, be sure to realize it is not nearly as much about what you do as it is how you do it and who you bring along with you on the journey!
Enjoy the next chapter! Know that I am. Read on and finish your book. Just be sure it doesn’t make you puke.