2009 Year of Transitions

I realize most people have already contributed and written about New Year’s Goals and reflections on the previous year, but I wanted to make a better late than never contribution to the mix. I was talking with a good friend recently a little bit about the last year, and I realized that there was a lot happening in my life. Here are a few of the more significant events that made up my 2009.

I spent a full year dating a wonderful lady, and that single feat easily exceeds the longest I have been in a romantic relationship with anyone. And Jamie is truly a gem too! I’m amazed at her ability to put up with me.

Over the last year, I would say that I traveled more than I have in many years. I spent multiple days in the following locales. Most of these trips were directly tied to work, or were remote locations from which I was performing work.

Pittsburgh, PA
Los Angeles, CA
Joshua Tree, CA
San Francisco, CA
Palo Alto, CA
Washington DC
Charleston, WV
Parkersburg, WV
Columbus, OH
Elkins, WV
New York, NY
Winchester, VA
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Atlanta, GA
Charlotte, NC
Deep Creek, MD
Lake Floyd, WV
Muncie, IN
Blacksburg, VA

Aside from this, I spent an intense season in prayer, and emerged from that time of prayer with a clear direction that I needed to leave my long time vocation (8 years) in college and young professionals ministry at Chestnut Ridge Church as an employee of Great Commission Ministries to work in the realm of justice by joining my long time friends Jake and John more directly in a venture to end extreme poverty. I believe this issue is the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation, and I further believe that future generations of people will look back on our generation and either applaud or critique based on how we respond to this issue.

In late April, I thought I was going to lose my dad. He had major blockage around his heart, and spent almost two weeks in a hospital after a massive heart attack. He is walking about 6 miles/day (at a 4mph pace) and exercises 3 days a week on top of that now. It was a pretty scary time for our family, and the emotional trauma has been hard on my dad too. All of this happened less than two years after losing my mom, but we continue to adjust and adapt.

In the Fall, my brother came to visit for the first time in two years. It was a huge surprise for my dad and sister, and we even had my best friend Willie bring his family down to join in the surprise and the joy. Our family is pretty tight, but it’s hard to get us all together very often. When we do get together, it becomes some of the most wonderful time of our lives.

Also in the fall, I started my full time role with Nuru International. It was a very event filled fall, and a challenging transition.

The year has been full of transition and change for me as well as for many people who are close to me. In fact I’ve heard many others refer to 2009 as a year of transitions.

I’m hoping that 2010 will be remembered as a year in which many good things happened, and will be a year of focus and progress in relationships, in vocation, and in the wellness of those who are close to me.

What was your 2009 like? May your 2010 be clearer, brighter, and more full of life than any previous year of your life. May you contribute to making the world a better place and to giving of your time and resources to better the world. And may you have a more intimate awareness of the sacred than you have ever experienced.