The unexpected journey. Life is filled with the unexpected. It states somewhere in the scriptures that man plans his plans, but only God makes him able to carry them out. I sometimes wonder if the “unexpected” in life isn’t God’s way of challenging us to look at things differently. In the year 2000 my new wife and I cast off all constraints leaving everything that was safe, familiar and secure to obey this inner prompting in our hearts. To be sure we gathered the necessary confirmation seeking wise counsel, talking with trusted friends and gaining the support of family. I had this knowing deep within me about one year before anything tangible even presented itself, but I knew a serious change was in front of us. My wife sensed it as well. Even though we could not put our finger on it, we knew something was about to change. We were so convinced that we had the house up for sale without having anyplace to move to. There was a great calmness that we were doing the right thing. While on a business trip I was approached by my supervisor about two positions that had just come open at our college in Virginia. Upon returning home, my wife and I talked it over, prayed about it, consulted all the people mentioned above and believed it to be the change we had been anticipating. The house sold immediately and the closing date was set. I had made the necessary arrangements for moving from Florida to Virginia. Three days before we were to leave the phone call came. I was told that the positions were given to another couple. This is what I would call unexpected! My supervisor assured me that he would take care of us asking me where we wanted to live. Since it seemed obvious to us that the Lord had said Virginia, we continued with our plans to move. This decision set in motion a chain of events that can only be described as totally unexpected. Without giving you the play-by-play version of the next four years that included moving in with my mother-in-law and the birth of our two sons—our daughter would follow later, nothing went according to the plan that I had envisioned for my bride and me. It was 2003 that we seemed to catch a break and return to pastoral ministry. Once again the unexpected happened. The following seven years were riddled with trials, tribulations and hardships. Some good things happened as well; our daughter was born, we closed the church, which unwittingly lead us into the world of house, simple or organic church. This took place in 2008 and was when I began to understand this nine-year-old journey we were on. I realized that had any of the events of the past gone even slightly different than we lived them out, that moment could have been lost forever. That is a powerful thought—one I would challenge you to reflect on in your own life.