June 2011

I took a scouting trip to Sarasota in June, to try and become better acquainted with the area. I would fly to Orlando, meet my parents, and together drive over to the West Coast of Florida for two days of sightseeing and planning. We had a great time, but really never felt like we found much that encouraged me about our next step. We spent a ton of time driving and my poor parents probably didn’t want to be in a car again for a couple of weeks. We literally drove up and down every major street in Sarasota, looking at apartments, schools, churches — anything that I felt might be important in our planning of the new church.

I kept telling myself that it was normal to feel disconnected, since we lived so far away.  Besides, I had never done anything like this, so I didn’t know what normal was. My parents were very supportive and encouraging the whole time. On the way to the airport, my dad reminded me that God already knew the end of the story… He smiled and said, “He’s just sharing one chapter at a time.”

Brian