On particular days, I would go take a hike, sit on some overlook somewhere in the woods near Saint Louis, and dream about the future. Often I would be struck with this deep yearning to live in the mountains with my family and to offer refuge to friends and strangers alike. I yearned to combine my love for the outdoors with my love of hospitality, discipleship, and community. The dream only got stronger over the years, and eventually led us Foxes to take the huge risk to move to Colorado in 2005 to work at Horn Creek.
It is funny, because like so many dreams we have, the reality often takes us down a different road than we thought. Indeed, having been here at Horn Creek for over 2 ½ years now, I am experiencing first hand God’s reshaping of those frequent dreams of the past. In many ways, our time at Horn Creek has been harder and more raw than we had idealized. I have cleaned more bathrooms, washed more sheets and dishes, and hauled much more trash than I would have liked. I have interacted with far more rude guests, youth pastors, and students than I ever would have imagined. The weather has been harsher than anticipated. I have shoveled far too much snow, chipped far too much ice, and cut and hauled far too much wood for my liking. I have gotten paid far too less and received far too little encouragement and strokes from campers and/or staff. It has not been the glorious experience that I once imagined this life to be. Yet…
I am living my dream. Every week I meet people from all over the country who are being awed by God’s incredible creation. Just three weeks ago I sat with a middle aged parent leader of a youth group who told me with tears in his eyes that he finally accepted Christ for real. He handed me his cigarettes and vowed never to smoke again. Every week we have people in our home, who are being encouraged, healed, convicted, and restored by God’s word. Every week we sit with people who have stories, pains, worries, joys, and hopes.. Every week we get to share our refuge in the woods with them. Our young adult interns from camp come over to rest, to share, to hear, to eat, and to escape. And we love it. Each summer college kids sit in our living room for bible study, come over for dinner, and hang out on our deck. And we love it. 8 couples from town come over each week to share, seek restoration, learn, and fellowship. And we love it. Our friends and our kid’s friends come over to laugh, play and dream. And we love it. I have hiked, ran, skied, and sat with many young adults and friends the past 2 ½ years, and I love it.
It is funny, because like so many dreams we have, the reality often takes us down a different road than we thought. Indeed, having been here at Horn Creek for over 2 ½ years now, I am experiencing first hand God’s reshaping of those frequent dreams of the past. In many ways, our time at Horn Creek has been harder and more raw than we had idealized. I have cleaned more bathrooms, washed more sheets and dishes, and hauled much more trash than I would have liked. I have interacted with far more rude guests, youth pastors, and students than I ever would have imagined. The weather has been harsher than anticipated. I have shoveled far too much snow, chipped far too much ice, and cut and hauled far too much wood for my liking. I have gotten paid far too less and received far too little encouragement and strokes from campers and/or staff. It has not been the glorious experience that I once imagined this life to be. Yet…
I am living my dream. Every week I meet people from all over the country who are being awed by God’s incredible creation. Just three weeks ago I sat with a middle aged parent leader of a youth group who told me with tears in his eyes that he finally accepted Christ for real. He handed me his cigarettes and vowed never to smoke again. Every week we have people in our home, who are being encouraged, healed, convicted, and restored by God’s word. Every week we sit with people who have stories, pains, worries, joys, and hopes.. Every week we get to share our refuge in the woods with them. Our young adult interns from camp come over to rest, to share, to hear, to eat, and to escape. And we love it. Each summer college kids sit in our living room for bible study, come over for dinner, and hang out on our deck. And we love it. 8 couples from town come over each week to share, seek restoration, learn, and fellowship. And we love it. Our friends and our kid’s friends come over to laugh, play and dream. And we love it. I have hiked, ran, skied, and sat with many young adults and friends the past 2 ½ years, and I love it.
A lot.
We take walks and runs in the woods. We explore rushing streams and cool waterfalls. We fish in remote mountain lakes, and picnic in lush meadows. We watch dear walk through our yard. We stare at the stars off our deck. We ski up to quiet meadows in the winter and pick beautiful wild flowers in summer. This is a dream, so different, yet so similar to what God laid on my heart for so many years. This is hard and this is good, and truly God is using our dreams in this place.
-Jeff
We take walks and runs in the woods. We explore rushing streams and cool waterfalls. We fish in remote mountain lakes, and picnic in lush meadows. We watch dear walk through our yard. We stare at the stars off our deck. We ski up to quiet meadows in the winter and pick beautiful wild flowers in summer. This is a dream, so different, yet so similar to what God laid on my heart for so many years. This is hard and this is good, and truly God is using our dreams in this place.
-Jeff
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