There’s No Place Like Home
Monday afternoon we had some friends from our days in Little Rock stop in to visit. They were passing through from Minnesota, on their way back home to Orlando, and we happened to be about the half way point for them. That means back to back days of 12+hours of driving, with a van full of kids. When they left Tuesday morning, Julie and I both said, “I’m so glad we are not them.” We are grateful to be done with the long road trips between Little Rock and Louisville to visit family a few times a year. More importantly, we’re glad to be back home.
No matter where we’ve lived (Arkansas, Phoenix, South Pacific), or how long we lived there, whenever someone asked where we were from, we always answered “Kentucky.” When God called us to serve at Valley View, it was a homecoming that we’ve relished since. Over the last few months I’ve had a number of pastor friends come to visit and many are jealous to hear me talk of all the friendships and connections to this community. I can drive down just about any road between home and church and have a flood of memories from the people and places that inhabit the homes and businesses in the Southend.
In our increasingly transient culture, this is a rare experience; to be rooted somewhere long term. But there are no shortcuts to community – it requires proximity and time. You have to be near people you want to get to know so you can spend time with them. I’m grateful that Valley View has been rooted on the same plot of land for 88 years now. A few people planted this church, many have since watered, but God is the one who causes and will continue to give the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6).
One of the main ways we grow in Christ is to live by faith. We are headed into a month-long emphasis on our church theme for the year:Â Walk by Faith. We’ll be looking at various passages in Hebrews 11 and some of the people who show up in the “hall of faith.” I encourage you to be reading through Hebrews 11 and 12 on your own, because they hold famously critical passages on faith, providing both a definition and its significance:
Definition: 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Significance: 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God.”
If we want to fully experience all that God has for us, we must walk by faith and be dependent on prayer. God has called Valley View to be a light in the Southend of Louisville, so be praying for wisdom and favor as we seek to learn all we can about walking by faith in July.