Living the Dream

All we were trying to do was transform a tiny little college campus in the Northeast corner of Ohio.  We had some really good news about a God who intervened in our lives and we simply wanted to talk with our friends about Him.  It's kinda like when you find a really good cupcake shop, you don't want to just hoard it all to yourself -- you want to share it with your special friends.

And, so, we were on mission together.  We were committed to inviting everyone to the "cupcake shop," who would be willing to try it.

And, when that happens...when you find something you're passionate about, and you find others to join you on that journey...those "others" become some of your dearest friends in the world.  You share in the struggles, the sadness, the frustrations, and the heartbreaks of the journey with those you travel with.  You also rejoice together, and sing songs together, and laugh, and dance together.  You do life together -- the beautiful and the ugly.  And those "others" on your journey see you at your best and at your worst.

That's precisely what happened with some of my sweetest friends, Ben and Shaina.

We met when I was a freshman at Mount Union College (they, seniors) when they simply opened up their home to me and invited me over dinner.  That one small dinner changed the trajectory of how I would live my life.  We were excited about God together and we wanted Mount Union to taste of the gospel and consider it good.

The Thompsons now, still some of my dearest friends in the world, are living a story they never could have created on their own -- even if they had tried.

The story God is writing through the lives of Ben, and Shaina, and their beauty Chaia, is epic and majestic.  And way larger than any of us would ever dared imagine as we sat in the measly Mount Union College chapel praying for a campus years ago, or as we sat around the dinner table in a one bedroom apartment swapping dreams of the things we wish to come, or as we sat on college futons in freshman dorms planning campus-wide Capture the Flag, or as we were skipping class to grab lunch with a friend to hear about their thoughts on God, or as we stayed up until 3AM (blowing off papers) talking about the cost of following Jesus -- and better yet -- the rewards of following Jesus, etc.  We dreamt a lot together, we had mighty dreams for future years and we had hearts that begged for God to use them, and we thought we were crazy.  We thought our dreams were so massive and so unattainable.  

And yet, yet, here's this story of my sweet friends who dreamt like crazy -- but the story they're living now is way wilder than they ever thought possible.  The costs and the losses and the pains are deeper.  ...and so are the rewards and gains and joys.

I am so privileged to be a part of Ben and Shaina's lives.  I couldn't have picked a greater couple to have been mentored by, brought up in, and shepherded by.  

I love what they're doing in Columbus.  

Columbus and Ohio State are receiving some of the greatest people in the world.  

May God bless you and keep you and may He be gracious to you.  May his face shine upon you and give you peace, Ben & Shaina.  I believe in you.  "This is not the end." --Gungor