Life is lived in chapters. The first chapter opens when we are born. The final chapter closes when we die, at which point through faith a new book begins! Some chapters are longer than others, and some are happier than others. But they add up, year after year, page after page.


Nancy and I are on the cusp of finishing another chapter in our lives. It has been a very happy chapter, thanks to the call of God and the grace of his people. Just over two months ago we landed in Ireland, made our way to Carlow, and began a venture in the unknown at Carlow Presbyterian Church. We had received some information from people in Carlow and knew that we would be welcomed, but we knew little beyond that—the chapter was not yet written.

But as the days went on, and the pages were filled, they were pages of joy and adventures. We met wonderful people, some of whom will remain friends for life. We visited some beautiful parts of the Emerald Isle. We shared in the pain of a church which had faced serious difficulties, but a church with people committed to the ministry, committed to Christ, and with hopes for the future.


I cycled lanes near the manse and Nancy walked them— I up hills and she along the river. We were invited into homes and shared meals with people we had never known. And we renewed friendships in Dublin and Lisburn which we had made before. We were taken places by new friends, shown parts of the area only locals know, and told pieces of history that may not appear in books. And we were fed and fed and fed…Potatoes and sweets and potatoes and lamb and potatoes and desert and potatoes and tea…


The chapter was filled with talking, sharing, praying, renewing, and making new beginnings with farmers and city workers and businessmen and others. A Tuesday morning men’s group, a golf outing, prayer for the persecuted church, a service in a barn, a picnic in a home and many other events made the chapter move quickly.

And the anchor was worship. Sunday mornings at 11:00. Nancy doing a children’s message and I leading the service. I was preaching out of Ephesians and it seemed to speak to us all. And there was the Wednesday evening service as well. There was laughter and tears, singing and praying—all the things that God sends us and we send back to him.


Tomorrow morning a plane leaves around 11:00 a.m. Nancy, I and Harry and Ellen Bruce will be on board, heading from Dublin to Newark to Greensboro. For Nancy and me it will be going back home—to family and a new family member soon to arrive. For Harry and Ellen it will be a visit, new experiences and, hopefully, something they will look back on with happy memories.

For Nancy and me this means this chapter will be closed. Not the relationships, not the memories, not the impact, but the time. We will look back and smile and thank God. And we will look forward to the time when we can renew the relationships and visit again. But in the meantime new chapters will be written and new adventures will be had. Some may be sad, some happy. But this chapter will be in the book of our lives. And it will be a good one—thanks to the people who have shared it with us and the God who brought us together…Praise be to God.