Dear Friends, 

    I recently traveled to St Louis to visit my grandsons and their parents. Loved the trip. The travel? Not so much. Long miles on I-70 littered with orange barrels and traffic merging down to one lane. I even planned my departure so well I hit rush hour traffic in Indianapolis! And that was driving there. The trip home? Ditto only longer!

   Don’t get me wrong. I love seeing my grandsons and catching up with their parents. I just don’t care for the journey. Too much fast food. Too many slow drivers. Too much time wishing it was over!

   Life has been like that for me lately, too. I retired in June to start a new ministry at the old Brunson’s Restaurant – a “pay what you can afford” restaurant. Had it been up to me, I would have dusted off the old place and got busy serving meals. God had other plans. So I am now on the long road of building renovation and renewal. No orange barrels. But the pace is slow and the way ahead obscure.  Many times I‘ve been lost and had to go another way. Even now, the long journey continues.

   What I have discovered along the way is that it is not only the restaurant changing. I am re-learning the fine art of waiting on God now leading the way in my rear view mirror.  God is not going fast enough. Me? I’d rather arrive and get busy.  God? Taking the long way enjoying the view. This is a hard lesson for me.

   So for those of you who ask me when Table One will be open, I can only say, “sometime soon.” For now, I am learning to let God show me the way. It’s a nice way to travel.

But I’ll still be glad when I get there!

   See you in church.

Loran