Happy Friday, Friends!
Every now and then I get the opportunity to offer up a Happy Friday message, and there is truly no better opportunity to do so than a major life update. So, for those of you reading, I will just cut to the chase: my wife and I are not pregnant (that has been the first question we get). In all seriousness and in actuality, Halla and I have felt called for me to pursue a different career path, and so I am joining the military to serve in the Navy.
As I have had different conversations with people and explained this career move, I have been met with a similar response from most, and as my uncle said, “I would not have put this on my bingo card for life.” And truly, from the outside looking in, most would not. However, joining the military is truly something that I have felt called to for quite some time and until recently, have always found a reason why not, and an excuse to not do it. Then came the perspective shift and the biggest gut punch I’ve ever felt: God talking to me.
In January of 2023, our Pastor at Faith Church offered a challenge to the church to spiritually fast for 14 straight days. While I did not participate in the exact way he said, I did something of my own and fasted twice a month for 24 hours. During that time, I would intently focus on prayer and really seek to hear from the Lord and what he would lay on my heart. As I kept fasting throughout the year, two things kept speaking to me: to faithfully tithe to the church (I had always given, but not fully tithed), and to seek out a career in the military. To tell you the truth, I was terrified of both. How could I give up “my money” to God? How could I leave my home, my family, this comfortable life? Well, I firmly believe that what we have is not ours, rather a gift from God that we are called to be great stewards of; and two, God is calling me to something, and it is my responsibility to faithfully honor Him and be obedient.
So, the better part of this past year has been a crazy journey for me, my wife, and our family. If you ask Halla how this journey begins, it would be something along the lines of, “he asked if I would still marry him if he wanted to go into the military”; and if you ask my dad, it would sound something like, “we were driving home from the golf course one evening”; and if you ask me, I would say, “I literally heard the Lord speak to me while working out and felt Him say ‘when will you finally do what I have called you to?’”
This journey that has brought us to this moment, and the next journey that is beginning to start, has been nothing short of one thing and one thing only: God opening doors. Before embarking on pursuing a military career (which I knew nothing about), Halla and I’s constant prayer was that the Lord would open doors for us and that we would follow His prompting. As I look back at how this has unfolded, I can truly describe it as nothing short of those very answered prayers. The Lord has placed amazing people in our lives to guide us on this journey, I have had the counsel and mentorship of some great friends (some of you who are reading this, and know who you are), and God has truly answered every prayer AND THEN SOME. While I cannot say the two things I felt during fasting were related, I can say that being obedient to both has been one of the biggest blessings of my life.
In wrapping this up, I would like to take this opportunity to draw from my testimony and make it applicable, in some form or fashion, to your own life. With that, there are a few takeaways that I hope you gain from this message:
Having a relationship with the Lord will be the best decision of your life. Wherever you are in your life, whether you have a relationship with the Lord or not, whatever religion you are, I would encourage you to pursue a relationship with God and watch Him do amazing things in your life.
Surround yourself with people who genuinely care about you and will speak into your life, both what you want to hear and what you need to hear, despite how it makes you feel. During this journey I have been blessed with incredible support from family, friends, mentors, and would not be at the place I am without them. To each of you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
This is related to #1, but on a deeper level: seek the Lord and His calling for your life. We all have hopes, goals, dreams, and ambitions. Be courageous in pursuing them and live the life you want to live. Nobody is going to live life for you, and we are only guaranteed today. Encouraging but somewhat sad is the number of people that I have shared my story with and have been met with “I wish I would’ve….”. In your own life, please turn what could be a “I wish I would’ve….” moment, into a great testimony of following your own heart and God’s call for your life.
While I do not have anything overly profound to share, or some sort of “how to” guide on ways to navigate life, what I can speak to is that God answers prayers and the testimony I have. Whatever you may be facing in life, wherever you may be in your relationship with Him, with your family, or with others, nothing will so profoundly change the trajectory of your life than to follow your spirit’s prompting. And how do you know what that is? We all know deep down – it’s that internal feeling, conversation with ourselves, constant reminder, to do whatever it is we feel ourselves prompted to.
So here is to doing and saying goodbye to “I wish I would’ve….”. Have a Happy Friday and a blessed weekend with your family and friends!
P.S. My job in the Navy will be as a Naval Flight Officer. Think of the movie TopGun – Maverick is flying, Goose is in the backseat – I will be a “Goose”. I hope the title now makes sense
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