Funny how this happens. It’s been well documented here, but in September of 2008, we sold our house and were headed to Charlotte, North Carolina. In what would be a whirlwind weekend, we picked the kids up from school on Friday and headed south to Charlotte to find a home. After a marathon session of searching for a home, we went to bed that Saturday night with visions of the house pictured above (and a VERY solid offer) dancing in our heads. By Sunday morning that old “check in the spirit” was ringing for both of us and we decided to not make the offer. We said our goodbyes to Charlotte and headed back to Columbus. Within days the sale of our home fell through and we never ended up packing a box. We haven’t been back to Charlotte since that crazy weekend.

I review that story because it ran through my memory today in an odd way. I was working through some old photos and stumbled across this picture. To be honest, I didn’t even know we had it. It caused me to pause and think about “what might have been”. I got to thinking about how different our life would be assuming we lived in that home and Charlotte for the last 15 months. I’ll admit a part of me was sad and wondered if we hadn’t “missed it”. That feeling didn’t linger long. I quickly snapped into what HAS been. I thought of making a list, but:

1. I won’t bore you with the details

2. The list is too long to trim to just a few things

The reality is that the last 15 months have been a time of growth. We’ve learned much about ourselves and discovered many new things (running to name just one). We’ve had the opportunity to discern where God wants us and what He has asked us to do. It is only fitting that we make our return this weekend to Charlotte to run a 1/2 marathon. Had we lived in Charlotte, I would neven have started running. My wife and I would not be running together and sharing that journey. So as we cruise the streets of Charlotte on Saturday morning, it will be a time of reflection. I still can’t claim to know or understand God’s plan, but I can trust Him.

Even with what might have been.

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