Well.

Our little social and religious experiment in Alabama is over.

I don't really have the distance needed for reflection yet. All day today I have been thinking of Jesus' warnings about the cost of following Him. Any delusions I have that this will be fun, or profitable, or easy, are self-imposed. Jesus never said anything like that. Even though tonight I feel like I've followed Christ off a cliff, I also have to remember that God never promised me otherwise.

Damn.

I am tempted to second-guess our decisions a year ago, but this year has been too good to do that. Most of what we've learned is too personal to be discussed in a public domain, but this much I'll say: when we left Nashville, my friend Halle predicted that the next year would be similar to the Year of Jubilee in the Old Testament. It was the year that no crops were planted, but the soil was replenished for the next season. She was right; this year was for us. It was a year of restoration, and I'm thankful for it. But externally, this year has been a disaster ... and I'm thankful to see that part end, too. So mostly, I guess, I'm thankful. I'm glad I've had this time, and I'm glad to see it go.

The next logical question is, now what? I have no idea. I hate staring into the abyss; I don't like having this many options (or none at all, depending on your perspective). Right now, we're just doing what comes next. And we're learning to trust God. At this point, that's all we can do.