Three and a half years ago we shared with the world that we were moving from Alaska to Michigan in the post So We’re Moving? Well, it’s time to share the news again! We are moving to Durango, Colorado! Just four months ago this was not even on our radar but it’s amazing how quickly things change!

 While we were on our extended road trip I was doing a lot of contemplating as to where God was leading us. I felt caught in a tug-of-war between a desire to go back to my roots in oil and gas or the “higher calling” of vocational ministry. I hope that you catch the error in that last sentence faster than I did, it has taken me years to come to grips with the fact that there is no such thing as a “higher calling.” The highest calling God has for us is to be faithful with what He has given us, loving Him with all that we are, and loving others as ourselves. If that happens to take us into a different vocation then that’s great but God isn’t concerned as much with our title as He is with our hearts and attitudes toward Him and others.

I share my experience to hopefully comfort and challenge those who may have some of the same feelings that I have had. First, comforting in the fact that whatever you are doing on a daily basis has the potential to be just as glorifying to God and just as important in His eyes as any other person in any other vocation. You don’t have to be in “full-time” ministry to please God. Second, the challenge comes from the fact that there is no excuse to not be living fully for Him in every moment of your routine tasks. Living with the attitude of, “some day I’ll make a difference, but for now I’m stuck here…” is just an excuse to be lazy right now. It puts more emphasis on the outcome and less on the attitude, which is exactly the opposite of God’s perspective. He doesn’t NEED you to complete some lofty goal, He want’s you to love Him and people, now.

While we were on vacation, with the above perspective in mind, I jumped online to see what jobs happened to be out there and there was one in Durango, Colorado that stood out to me. It looked like a perfect blend of my experience and education, it was in a fantastic location and even offered a relocation package which is almost unheard of in operations at the hourly level. I decided to put together a resume and apply that day with the idea that I wanted to keep my options open. After applying I quit looking at jobs and decided to just enjoy the rest of our vacation with family (and haven’t looked for another job since!). About three weeks later I received a last minute email asking if I could interview in Durango four days from then, which is what prompted our 4,500 mile detour from Florida to Colorado and Utah!

The interview went great and now it is with great excitement that I have accepted a job as a Senior Operator for Williams Companies at a natural gas processing plant in Durango! Durango is a neat old town, very similar in some ways to St. Joseph, it has four seasons, 300 days of sun and warm summers! From all accounts we hear that it is a wonderful place to raise a family, hike, bike, kayak and ski. Not only am I excited for all of those things but I’m also looking forward to returning to the energy industry and working each day with a purpose, recognizing that God is not as concerned with what I’m doing as He is with how I’m doing it.

You may ask the question, “so what was the point in moving to St. Joe?” That is a question that I don’t think we’ll ever have a complete answer to but we can emphatically share that we have never once regretted or questioned our move to St. Joe. God has done so much in our hearts and lives through this experience; He has blessed us with rich friendships, we have grown in spiritual understanding, our marriage has been stretched and strengthened and through it all we have tried our best to bring glory to God even through our messiness and weaknesses.

You can expect more to come as we move forward but in the mean time if you know anyone looking to buy a house in St. Joe, send them our way!