Carolina to Colorado

“To be wrecked begins with an experience that pulls you out of your comfort zone and self-centeredness, whether you want it or not.”


The journey to Colorado that started this past Spring has come to fruition and here I am, typing away at a blog in a new place, a new state, a new home. To say that this experience has been easy would be lying, but through it all, I have been taught so many things. I am extremely thankful to be where I am today.

After a three day drive, and what seemed like an eternity driving through Kansas, Leland( my best from Charleston who graciously rode with me out west) and I made it to Denver. Once he left and flew back east to Charleston, it hit me that I would not be turning my car around in due time and head back to the place I grew up, the place I called home for 22 years. This beautiful state of Colorado is now my home and until the Lord calls me somewhere else, it will remain my home.

If I experienced or learned anything just from the trip out here its that there is so much more authenticity in Christ followers once you exit the cultural Christianity headquarters of the South. Now don't get me wrong, the place where I grew up has some of the most amazing and genuine Christians Ive met, but once you leave the South, things are different...in a good way.

One example of this is when Leland and I stopped in Kansas at our friend Heidi's place. She had arranged for us to stay with a group of Christian guys who she knew and was close to. Little did we know that these group of guys, before even getting to know us would give us a key to their house and let us take over their bedrooms while they slept on the couch. I can honestly say I have never even thought about giving up my bed to a stranger. I never thought of giving a key to my house to some friends of a friend. WHO DOES THAT? I'll tell you who. A group of guys who know Jesus on a personal level and who know what true community acts like and looks like. I am thankful for that experience because it gave me a glimpse of not only my selfishness but also a glimpse of how I can start loving people better.


Colorado is different. Its a place where sweet tea doesn't exist(unless you make it) and "y'all" is usually only said when its referring to a joke about the South. It is different in the fact that it is a mile about sea level and "Big Al" gives a southern guy like me some serious headaches and dehydration issues. It is different in the fact that there isn't a church on every corner and the majority of it's population is "unchurched".

Yet through all these differences that I am experiencing, I can say with all certainty that my God is the same on the East Coast as He is here. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

This experience of picking up and moving has wrecked me. It has taken me out of my comfort zone and forced me to rely on Jesus and not just my upbringing in Christianity. Denver is full of people that need Jesus. This place is full of people that are extremely different than I am and those are the ones that Jesus calls me to love the most. I refuse to look at these people as "weird" or "liberal". I will look at them as people God created and that Jesus died for, which means that I am called to love them, no matter their circumstances.

Do I miss home? Absolutely. Am I moving back? Not unless the Lord leads me back. Do I miss my family? Yes, but the Bible tells me that I am to love the Lord more than my family.

As I type I am reminded of the sermon that I heard at Ridgeland Baptist the Sunday before I left which was on Genesis 12. It says,

"12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”"

I am overwhelmed knowing that the same God who called Abram, called me here to Colorado. He has shown me this place. He has led me here. I am also reminded of Matthew 19:29 in which Jesus says,
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
I know by moving out here, I did not move in vain. I know that future generations will be blessed by Front Range Christian Church.  I know that the Lord is moving out here in big ways. I know that there will be times when I want to pack it all up and move back, but I know that the Lord will be close to me in those times. I know that I will miss my family a lot. Seeing my niece and nephews grow up through Facebook will hurt, but my Heavenly Father is always with me. If I have learned anything in my 22 years on Earth, it is that through hard times the Lord teaches us the most, so I am ready to learn!

I am blessed to be here and call this beautiful place my home. I ask that you always pray for me and for the Lord's will to be done here.


If youre reading this from SC, know that I miss you all and I pray for you daily. Love you guys, (I can't say "yall" anymore) and COME VISIT ME!

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