2022

December 2022

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

-Jesus

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  2022 was akin to life following a Tsunami.  It is often easier to address practical needs after a natural disaster than to find hope and healing in the aftermath.  Crews sweep through in days but are long gone when families are left still contemplating the trash heap that once housed their warmest Christmas Holidays.    

The global “Tsunami” of 2020-21 has subsided.  Theatres, restaurants, and airports are packed...but this time with more anxiety-ridden, fear-prone people.  They are “back,” but not really.  Sarah and I get it.  2022 has been a year of reflection on our own life’s ashes.  In the last few years, we left the family financial firm that we helped build and then our church home of over a decade.  These departures elicited unexpected and unwanted (on our end) dissolutions of relationships…and even lawsuits between family members. 

The adrenaline has now worn off, the “clean-up crews” have gone home and we are left taking inventory, reflecting, and grieving many losses.  I remember one day staring into space for almost 3 hours, motionless, after the third and final mediation with a close family member failed (miserably).  I was not angry, just numb.  It felt like a broken heart.

But God.  Sarah and I love this phrase.  Pain, loss and brokenness do not get the last word in our lives.  God does. And He has spoken blessing over our lives a long time ago (Psalm 23 – “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”).  Therefore, surprisingly, 2022 has also been the best year of my entire life.  The Tsunami has passed and we still have breath in our lungs.  Life on the other side is good.  The air is crisper.  We are more present.  Humble.  Grateful.  Quieter.  Slower.  We cry more. 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”  This season has been one of more comfort, rest and savoring than we thought imaginable.  We went to Italy…twice.  We built lakes and a white-sand beach on a recent 100-acre purchase 20 minutes away.  25 Financial is adding several amazing team members almost every quarter (and purchased 135 W. Adams in Kirkwood, MO to house them all!).  We have found healing through receiving and rest in our new church home. 

Charlie (15) is part-time at the local high school and joined the cross-country team.  He ran a 5k in 17:17 as a freshman!  His humility and quiet leadership is even more impressive.  Ricky (13) is kind, hard-working, patient and a peacemaker.  Younger kids flock to him.  Eve (11) is tenacious, systematic and social.  Eve and Ricky have begun “K-life” youth group and are loving it.  Liam (9) is our reader.  He has an engineer mind and loves to build with Legos.  Sweet days far outweigh hard days with him.   Solomon (7) is a ham.  My friend told me his kid went to “space camp” last week.  Impressive.  Some days, I’d just like to know how close of “friends” Solomon thinks he is with some of our chickens.

The future is uncertain and the past can be unexplainable.  If you have ashes, “Cast your burdens on God, because He cares for you.” We did, and it worked.  We found the “treasure in the field.”  And it’s not money.  It’s God.  May He bless you and your family richly in this Season of Joy. 

With love, Randy (for the family).