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If you've taken the time to read my bio, you know that we (the Mathews' family) are planting a church in Northern California-Sacramento to be exact. If you've read very many of these columns, you know I'm a small town girl. Same street, same school, same people till I left for college. So this last year has been quite a stretch for me-- a lot of stretch. (Even more of a stretch than putting on my recently rediscovered high school sweat suit.)

My brother Reggie came to visit last week, and the contrast of former life to current life became even more dramatic. We took our chairs to pee wee football practice and sat down to watch my oldest son Max's team play. He caught me up on Ray and Curtis, the Cougars and Coach Raney. The comfort of my 17- member class was a sweet memory. It was so nice to use first names in the conversation and still know exactly who we were talking about. We got up from our chairs and walked over to watch sons 2,3, Jack and Mark, play.

"Do you know any of these people?" Reggie asked.

"Not a one," I said. Ohh, that hurt.

So the rest of the week I had dreams (literally) about roaming the halls of Lee Academy and playing with the neighbor kids. There were lots of other dreams that I couldn't quite remember, but they all had to do with being comfortable. My sleep was filled with people that I been with everyday of my life for twelve years of school.

Besides the obvious lesson that I need to start getting to know these people (I did move my chair to a more populated spot at practice this week), I think there was a different lesson in all this. I think there is a lesson about our deepest desire for the familiar, and for the peace that often comes with the routine. The desire is so strong, that some people spend their whole life unfulfilled and unhappy because they fear giving up the familiar.

But now that I'm out here on the edge of ever-changing, I've got to find a way to calm the anxiousness that sometimes can be overwhelming. How do I get peace on this unfamiliar road--when I'm constantly surrounded by strangeness and strangers?

I'm discovering that peace comes by abiding in the Father, the familiar father who knows me, and knows where I am going. I might feel like I'm alone, surrounded by people I don't know in places I've never been, doing things I've never done before. But the truth is, I'm not alone. I've got a Father sitting with me at pee wee football games and helping me build community with strangers as we work to plant a new church in Sacramento.
"...If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me." (Psalm 139:13)

(This is a re-run. I only wish my brother had been here last week! Our church is now 18 months old.)

"Inspiration For You" from Randy Mitchell

Honoring A Father