As of a couple of days ago, Abbi and I have been in Columbia for 2 years! It’s crazy how time flies. One of the biggest things I’ve learned in this season is that you can’t walk with God and fully plan your life at the same time.

You see, when I was back in Charleston, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the future would look like. I imagined where I would go, what I would do and who I would do it with. I didn’t see anything wrong with this approach. I mean, my heart was in the right place and I wanted to serve God. I had contemplated planting a church in Tennessee, quitting ministry and going to law school and a whole host of other things. Needless to say, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up!

Then, on a regular day in Mt. Pleasant, I got a text message that would prove to be monumental for our family. I was asked to go into a meeting and was then asked to prayerfully consider the possibility of moving to Columbia to oversee Seacoast’s Columbia Campus. I had never even visited Seacoast Columbia, let alone thought about leading it. That night I went home and talked things through with Abbi. Both of us felt excited about the possibility and that next morning, at about 5:45am, I emailed some of Seacoast’s leadership and told them that Abbi and I would be honored to go if they wanted us to. The rest, as they say, is history.

As I’ve led Seacoast Columbia, I could write a book about all of the different ways that God has confirmed that we are exactly where he wants us to be. The way the move to Columbia worked out has forever changed the way I view the future. You see, I spent a ton of time trying to anticipate God’s direction for my life. I talked and thought about it in length with some of the wisest people I know. With all that thought and conversation, I never once considered being Seacoast Columbia’s campus pastor. If I couldn’t anticipate that move and clearly recognize that was God’s providence in my life, then why would I be so arrogant to think that I could anticipate whatever may come next?

So there you have it, God completely short-circuited my brain when it comes to thinking about the future. We can plan in the season that we’re in with the variables that we have in front of us, but there are variables that God has yet to introduce into your life that you simply cannot plan for. The best I’ve come up with is to work and plan hard in the season that you’re in while simultaneously trusting God to organize the steps for your future.

I don’t want to live a life that is marked by my control. I want to live the full adventure that God has for me. In order to live that adventure, my modus operandi needs to be characterized by trust and submission to God. So let me ask you…are you open to the adventure God has for you? Are you praying for it? Are you expecting the unexpected? There are certainly a host of risks that you accept by embracing this kind of life, but this is exactly what you were created for.