Hello! Hope you’re well. Here’s the latest.
Bon Voyage? Yeah. Bon Voyage.
Well, you’re reading this on or after Monday, but I’m writing this email on Sunday at Gate 73 of the United terminal in Newark airport, waiting on a flight to Paris via Dublin. We’re leaving (or attempting to leave) a day later than we’d originally planned, but hey—we all kind of said goodbye to “original plans” about 17 months ago, didn’t we?
The travel-related challenges (and our life right now is kind of…all travel—so I suppose these are life challenges😃) this last 36 hours or so have been myriad. (And they’re not over yet—will we get to France to celebrate my sister’s wedding? Where will we be 24 hours from now? Who can know?) But there is also, of course, much to be grateful for. For instance: this life of ours is making our kids so very sturdy, so flexible, so independent, so brave, so bonded to one another, and so very dependent on God. Big time gratitude for that.
Also, you know (or perhaps you’ve heard) how picking a tomato from your garden or a peach from your own tree always tastes better? It’s ripe and in season, sure—that’s probably reason #1 for that deliciousness. But I think maybe it’s also that you’re closer to the source—you’ve jettisoned the corporate farm, the mechanized harvesting, the 700-mile truck drive to the grocery store, the plastic wrap and the shelf time and the conveyer belt at the checkout…all of that stuff that makes it easy to forget where your food comes from. And now, with that sweet-as-candy peach juice dripping from your chin as you stand in your backyard just next to the tree, you’re aware. Aware of the miracles of life and soil and seeds and seasons and photosynthesis. And after years of seeing peaches ‘originate’ in plastic bins at some supermarket, that awareness feels like waking up.
That’s what the Gerhardts’ life feels like right now. We’ve traded an it’s-here-every-day-and-we-don’t-even-think-about-it-anymore house for Airbnbs that might get booked before we pull the trigger, for the guest rooms of friends and family, and for the side-by-side beds in hotels—some nice, some not so nice. I’ve traded a steady, ample income for a variable, nascent one. We’ve traded the (perceived) predictability of a stationary life for the unignorable unpredictability of itinerancy. We’ve traded the outsourcing (please hear no judgement in that term) of our kids’ educations for homeschooling them ourselves. We traded many closets-full of clothes and stuff for two full-size suitcases and 4 carry-on bags’ worth of essentials.
In so many ways, we’ve chosen a life in which so much could go wrong.
And so much could go right.
And in all of this, one thing that I’ve noticed: we’re (all 4 of us) so very aware of our constant dependence on God. We need Him for money to eat. We need Him for a place to sleep. We need him for enough clothes to wear. We need Him for our flights to work out (or at least for us to be okay when they don’t). We need Him for our international entry forms to be accepted. We need Him for my work to work. And for Jennifer’s work to work. We need Him for school to work.
The list goes on.
This dependence, of course, is no more the case today than it was 9 months ago before we started all this. We’re just more aware.
And you know what it feels like? Like we jettisoned the corporate growers and the supermarket and the plastic wrap and planted a garden, and now we’re in the backyard with peach juice on our lips. Smiling with hearts full of wonder and gratitude and a faith that is very alive. Aware of (and thankful for) the One who’s working all these miracles.
A life full of them. Even when I don’t see.
I Made You Something
Oh right! Almost forgot to tell you: there’s a brand new episode of Holy Ghost Stories out for you at this very moment. Episode 3 dropped this morning and I think you’re going to love it—I sure do. It’s the story of Elisha the prophet’s run-in with the Aramean elite forces (or should I say, the Aramean elite forces’ run-in with Elisha the prophet). There’s drama and espionage and attempted kidnapping and fiery chariots and some fabulous humor (on Yahweh’s part—who else?). Not to mention a really touching scene of God’s love standing in stark contrast to the conflict and chaos of the day. Mmmm—yum.
It’s called “The Charioteer, the Blind Men, and the Suprise Party,” and I hope it blesses you deeply.
As always, you can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Give it a listen and share it with someone if you like it!
1 Cool Thing
(Sorry—they’re calling for us to board the plan. Only time to share one thing!)
VidAngel - Talking with folks all over the country on our summer workshop tour, Jennifer and I were surprised to see how many people were unaware of VidAngel. It allows you to filter whatever content (visual or audio) you choose from a ton of the Netflix and Prime (and Showtime) streaming services. This has been a Godsend for us since our kiddos begain to age up into (praise God) a taste for more sophisticated storytelling. VidAngel opens up lots of stuff we wouldn’t want them watching otherwise. Less than ten bucks a month, I think.
Alright—that’s the latest! Hope you enjoy HGS Episode 3.
Gratefully,
Justin
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