Erique Gumbs walked into the back of the auditorium while I was preaching this past Sunday. I hadn't seen him in a few weeks; he's been busy settling into his new life at Towson University in Maryland. He's also been working out and preparing for his freshman season of playing for the figtin' Towson Tigers basketball team.
Erique is circa 6'10", and when he walked into the auditorium, I immediately noticed that he had grown a bit from the last time I saw him. You see, for Erique, growing is a big deal. He's tall, but he wants to get taller. 7ft + skilz (yes, that's with a "z") = a good chance of making it the bigs.
When I told him I thought he had grown, he proceeded to wrap me in a celebratory hug with his tentacle-like arms. He hasn't measured himself in awhile (I'm assuming because he's employing the "a watched pot never boils" logic), but heard that day from 4 different people the same thing: "Erique, you're getting taller."
As I thought about Erique and his future, I realized that there are other people getting taller at The Journey too. I thought about the people who have been baptized this past year and are living lives that are honoring Jesus. I thought about the people who have begun gathering with us regularly each Sunday since Friend Day. I thought about the people who are connecting weekly in Life Groups and monthly during First Friday and about the people who are giving generously with their finances, time and talent. People at The Journey are growing spiritually. If you're a sojourner with me, and you're gathering, connecting and serving, then you're growing! (Insert virtual celebratory hug here).
The fightin' Towson Tigers are a better bball team because of Erique Gumbs; they'll be even better as he grows. The Journey is great because you're apart of it; we'll be even better as we grow together.
"We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing."
2 Thessalonians 1:3
Comments