A lot has changed in my life over the last two years.

I lost my Dad…

Along with two uncles who also had a profound impact on me.

I lost a little bit of my identity as a result…

Along with some security.

I lost a sense of normalcy…

Along with everybody else in the pandemic.

But I also gained some things.

Along with extra weight (thanks quarantine!),

I gained some clarity about my life.

Along with extra time (thanks quarantine!),

I gained some wonderful memories with my wife and daughter.

Along with a job I love (preaching),

I gained an additional job that I love (leadership training with OKDHS).

And now I’ve gained another life change.

But first…

Let me share a biblical principle that is designed to build a strong, healthy, and just society.

The principle is expressed in Exodus 20:12 which says, “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

The idea of honoring father and mother carries many implications including a responsibility to care for aging parents. And, as one Bible scholar says, “Those who build a society in which old age has an honored place may with confidence expect to enjoy that place themselves one day.”

I’m pointing this out to say that our (my wife and I) time has come to honor our parents by caring for them and supporting them in their old age.

My wife’s parents are in their late 80’s and the health issues are starting to mount up.

The family is committed to keeping them in their home and, collectively, we have the resources to do so.

However, additional caretaking will be needed.

My wife has a special relationship with her parents and she is well-equipped to step in and help out.

And she wants to do it.

And I want her to do it.

So, we are moving to Edmond, to a place that is just over a mile from her parents’ house.

We are doing this with the full support and encouragement of the Alameda elders, who want me to stay on as their preacher.

And I am so happy to be able to still preach for a church family I deeply love.

Alameda family, please understand that I am not distancing myself or “pulling away” from you.

I will continue to be as accessible and available to you as I have always been.

But I need to do this for my family.

I sincerely hope that you will be supportive and understanding because, quite honestly, we need that from you as we enter a new “season” of our lives.

And please pray for us and pray for my wife’s parents.

We simply want to honor them and honor God, in the process.

Yes, it’s another life change.

And, yes, it’s filled with uncertainty.

But whenever God has called me to walk through the door of change that He has opened…

I have never regretted it.