Week 167: Stepping Back in Time
By: Aaron Charles
Tags: Journey, Rest, Relationships, Short Story, Marriage

Sarah and I have been on a shared journey together these last four years. It’s our journey, but it’s been such a joy to share a small part of it with you through this blog. Inherently, a journey involves movement. You’re on the go, moving ahead to the next stage. But I’ve often found that there is value in pausing for just a moment to catch your breath and look back to see how far you’ve come in the journey. More than that, it’s important to recognize the people and places that spurred you on.

In our journey, you are probably aware by now that Prairie Camp has been a major part of our lives together over these last several years.

We’re serving as co-directors for Teen Camp once again, and this Sunday had us out in the community promoting camp at a local church. It’s fun when different parts of your life converge, so being able to use my communication training from my day job in this passion project of ours is an added bonus. But that’s not even the coolest part of this Sunday. This Sunday, we just happened to be at the church where I grew up — Hillside Missionary Church.

My Dad still goes there, but Sarah and I decided a few years back that we needed to find a church where we could have a shared identity. We needed to embark on that journey together. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that this church has played a key role in shaping the person I am today, and it was such a joy to see familiar faces and join in fellowship with dear friends. The pastor at Hillside is a college friend of ours, and his wife was even Sarah’s freshman year roommate! It’s amazing how things come full circle like that.

This was such a refreshing day, and I was reminded of all the people who have poured into my life along the way. It’s sobering to think about how many people have given of themselves — whether their time or their energy — to help me along the way. Sarah and I are now in the midst of our own journey, and we’re still figuring things out. But it’s a reminder to constantly be looking for ways that I can give to the people around me, just as so many have given so much for me.

Sarah and I shared about an organization that is part of the shared story that we now have. Prairie Camp is where we’ve ministered together for the last several years. It’s been our shared passion and work. It has helped us unearth the different ways we each approach work, and that has strengthened our marriage. And now, it’s given us an avenue to engage with people who have helped us along the way.

Speaking of people who have helped us along the way, at the top of that list for both Sarah and me are our mothers. It also happened to be Mother’s Day on this Sunday, and we were able to spend quality time with both my Mom and Sarah’s Mom over the weekend. I can’t even begin to express how much both of them have given of themselves to help us grow into the people we are today. That’s worthy of a lifelong debt of gratitude.

We got home after a full day — not just of work, but of being filled emotionally. We didn’t do any cooking of our own this day. Sarah’s Mom made baked mac and cheese, and we helped eat it. But this day wasn’t so much about moving forward in our shared journey as it was about pausing and refilling our stores. It was about being reminded about the incredible people who have invested in us. It was about looking back on our journey, so that we will be able to move forward with a renewed focus and energy.

This was a good day.