Reflections On 20 Years

Today, Nov. 20, 2020, marks 20 years of life in Indiana. We are Hoosiers now, I suppose.

On a cool Tennessee morning at 419 Cedarvalley Drive in Nashville, Tenn., my wife, Shannon, and I pulled out of our insanely steep driveway — leaving behind the only state I had ever called home and her leaving behind the second state she had called home — for the unknown of Dubois County, Indiana.

We left in a U-Haul truck packed to the literal brim with me driving the sketchy truck and Shannon following behind me in our also-packed-to-the-brim Chevrolet Cavalier two door car. We had been married just more than two years at that point and had already moved from our first apartment on Edmondson Pike into a duplex on Nashville's southeast side. We were leaving behind my job as Crew Chief/Training Coordinator (i.e. I delivered pizzas and trained new drivers) at Domino's Pizza in Franklin, Tenn., to take on my first professional/career-type job at The Herald newspaper in Jasper, Indiana. I was there as a copy editor/page designer for nine great years (and am still upset by the recent changes to that once-great paper) and have been at Redemption Christian Church full-time (after a few volunteer/part-time years) for nearly 11 years, now as Executive Minister.

We have had highs, lows, and in-betweens. We've had two kids born (and almost raised), one miscarriage, and lots of love shared. We've been provided for, even when we had little (and when we've had much, relatively speaking).

What we thought would be no more than one year as Hoosiers has now turned to 20, now with two teenage Hoosiers who have known no home outside of southern Indiana.

I feel like I'm finally — more or less — at peace with being here. There are still things about this place I don't understand, but it's our home and God has, fairly obviously, kept us here for His purposes. 

And we trust His will for us.

From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. — Acts 17:26 (NLT)