An Ode to My Chacos:

On Friday, June 5, Julia and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. For our wedding anniversary Julia surprised me with a brand new pair of Chacos. (You can see the old pair in the picture to the right). I was very excited. Anyone who knows me, knows I wear my Chacos everywhere. I wear them to the office, out to eat, to the hospital, exercising, I'd even wear them on Sunday morning but I don't think they would match my suit. When I opened my present I was excited and sad that I would have to get rid of my old chacos. I had worn them almost everyday for three years, they had traveled with me to six different countries and many life experiences took place while they were on my feet. I was a little sentimental as I disposed of my old Chacos in the trash.

My chacos were on my feet the first time I stood up on a box in downtown Raleigh and preached in the open air. They were on my feet when a young man came up and began to yell and cuss me out for sharing the Gospel in public. They were on my feet when an old man bowed his head and received Christ as His Lord and Savior while I preached in the open air.

My chacos were on my feet when we said good-bye to family and friends to spend two years overseas. They were on my feet when we landed in Burkina Faso and the plane was engulfed in a dust storm and we had to walk across the tarmack with dust blowing everywhere. They were on my feet our first night overseas when the power went out, we couldn't open our window because there was no screen & bugs would get in so the temperature in our room climbed to the upper 90's. They were on my feet when we spent the weekend staying in an African hut with a roast infested bathroom. No lie, roaches would come pouring out of the hole in the ground whenever you went in to use the toilet. I can remember walking out, looking at Julia and telling her that she was going to have to hold it for three days.

They were on my feet when we arrived in Nalerigu, Ghana for the first time and saw how rural the city was we would be living in. They were on my feet as we learned how to live in the African bush; three hours away from the nearest city and an hour away from the nearest paved road. They were on my feet when we went from surviving overseas to thriving. They were on my feet when we began working with women accused of witchcraft, when we began working with tuberculosis patients and even when I was diagnosed with tuberculosis. They were on my feet as I took a pill everyday for 9 months to contain the tuberculosis and make sure it didn't become active and contagious. They were on my feet the night the hospital ran out of water (long night) and they were on my feet when I fell through my roof trying to clear branches off before the rains came. They were on my feet when the chief almost set me on fire. They were on my feet when we established a church which still meets today under a mango tree. They were on my feet when the young man I was discipling came to me and said he wanted to be a Pastor and they were on my feet when I watched him preach his first sermon.

My chacos were on my feet when we went to Kenya and watched a female lion track her prey across the African plane and they were on my feet when we spent the night stranded in the Ethiopian airport. They were on my feet when I traveled to Turkey to finish Seminary and they were on my feet when I graduated (still in Ghana) with my Masters of Divinity and we had a mini ceremony in an African village.

My chacos were on my feet when Julia told me she was pregnant with our first child, they were on my feet when we learned our first child was going to be a girl and they were on my feet the very first

time I ever held Piper.

Finally, my chacos were on my feet when we packed up, said good-bye to friends who had become family and moved back to America. They were on my feet when I received the call from First Baptist Church of Stanleyville that they were offering me the Associate Pastor/Minister of Students position and they have been on my feet almost everyday in the office. (I can't stand shoes and if I was forced to wear closed toe shoes in the office I would probably quit).

Finally, (for real final) they were on my feet when we closed on our first house and I had just taken them off my feet when Julia told me she was pregnant with our second child.

There is a line in Forest Gump in which Forest says, "momma said those were my magic shoes and they could take me anywhere." My old pair of chacos felt like magic shoes and took me anywhere and everywhere, thousands of miles and many experiences. 

I don't know what will happen in my life with my new pair of Chacos but I am excited to find out. I'm excited to travel the miles with this new pair of shoes and see what's in store.