a new beginning.

Writing is sort of like a muscle. It’s most effective when it is used and exercised regularly. Unfortunately, I’ve been fairly out of shape recently.

This is my first blog post in over a year. A large part of that is because I have been extremely busy with work, life, community, and responsibilities. But it’s also because frankly, for the past year and a half, I pretty much lost all desire to write for other people in a medium like this. COVID was waxing and waning; ministry was happening (and was plenty demanding); and my soul was largely concerned and consumed with the people, issues, and complexities in front of me rather than in maintaining a digital space. I pretty much completely forgot about this blog, and would only post the occasional picture to Instagram and Facebook.

But I’ve decided to revive this blog, for a few reasons.

The first is that, thankfully, life has settled down a little bit for me to begin thinking about participating in a medium like this again. Writing and sharing is good for my soul, even if the audience of friends who actually bother to read this are small. And so I think I’m finally ready for my fingers to dash the keyboard in this space again.

Second, I’ve had a little bit of a perspective shift on the potential of this blog. When I moved to Sacramento from the Bay Area, I felt as if I was venturing into the unknown. I also knew I wasn’t so much leaving as I was actually being sent, by people who loved and cared for me.

Yet the difficult thing about being sent is that it can often be difficult to update the senders. I’ve had a small army of people praying for me this past year and a half, but only a limited amount of time and conversation to really draw people into the story of what God has done. It’s something that has sometimes frustrated me and sometimes saddened me. But I’ve realized that this blog can be a space to share the story and the stories of unfolding grace in the spaces where Jesus has put me, and hopefully encourage those who have contended for me in prayer and rooted for me from afar. I hope to do that more regularly with this blog and digital space.

2022 has already been beautiful, messy, and filled with grace upon grace – and it’s only just begun. I’m excited to share the joys and the sorrows as they come. Most of all, I’m excited to tell the stories, and to continue telling and sharing my own as it’s still being written. May it all be for His glory, and our joy!

Sola Dei Gloria,
Andrew