It is dark here in Dallas, TX. I am typing this in the middle of the night (yea mid-life!) bathed in just the light of a single lamp. The rest of the space around me is very dark. Yet, it feels safe and warm. We have learned that this is how it feels to be living in God’s light and by His light. The darkness of the “unknowns” is real. But the safety of being in His light is warm and safe. It is in this perfect light that not only are we abiding, but as it moves, we are learning to step with it. To step with Him.
When Steve and I lived in Anson, TX, prior to the concussive 180 in our life, we would always take a bright flashlight out with us to walk the dogs in the early mornings, before the sun came up. We needed a flashlight, not to light up the entire yard but to shine brightly on the area right in front of us. We needed to see that where our foot was about to land was safe, because Anson had rattlesnakes. We needed the light at our feet, just a bit ahead of our steps so we could see that our path was clear of snakes.
In Psalm 119:105 we read that God gives us His word to guide us, to be a light on our feet and a lamp to our path. We don’t need to wander aimlessly through life fearing our next step will cause us harm. We even find peace in not needing to see what is at the end of the path. As we abide with Him, it can feel very much like we are sitting by a small campfire in a dark forest. There is enough warmth and light for what we need if we just stay close. We can choose to venture into the dark forest without Him, or we can wait until He moves. When the fire moves, we simply move with it, not ahead of it. The idea of single steps, one step at a time, stepping only where the light of God guides has been the theme for 2024, and it’s been Good.
When our 2023 chapter closed, we were on “assignment” at my childhood home in upstate NY helping Mom navigate her “new normal” after Dad’s passing. It’s hard to believe he passed 3 years ago. With an unending list of tasks available, every day we were challenged to take a posture of listening with a readiness to obey. But, among the daily projects we also had times of “something new.”
We were able to take the planned month-long trip in February to SE Asia, which I had dubbed a “vision trip.” The sole purpose of this trip was to go with open eyes to see what God was doing and open ears to hear if He was calling us back. Outside of paying for plane tickets that book ended a month of time with an arrival and departure in Singapore, we left all other trip details to God. We like to say we cast a wide net and allowed Him to surprise us with the fish. And the net was certainly filled. We spent time in a couple of cities in Malaysia and Indonesia as well as doing some memory soaking in Singapore. Strangers became friends as we were invited to stay in homes of people living out the “abiding with God” posture, and we were loved on by local friends we hadn’t seen in years, getting to know their
families for the first time. It was a time of receiving both comfort in memories and a new way of looking at our lives. We didn’t plan any big excursions or adventures. We tried to get away from other tourists as much as possible, spending quiet times with God, simply sipping kopi in a hawker center, or walking miles through random neighborhoods, listening as we went. Each day we got up and said, “What do you have for us today, Lord.” It was the best kind of trip.
Perhaps what we were learning was the best kind of living. Like the flashlight on our Anson yard in the dark of early morning, or His word to my ways of thinking and living, there is security in letting Him reveal each day as it comes. There was freedom in this because after Lena’s wedding in September, we again neared a “cliff of unknown.” We had no idea what our next assignment would be but by midsummer we knew He was moving us on to a new “assignment.” Staying with Mom forever was never the plan, but that unknown next step was looming ever closer.
Spring and summer were largely filled with wedding prep but also taking time for a lot of walks. Being in nature, in His creation (and not just the oceanside), was more healing than we had before experienced.
In May we attended a conference where we heard stories of not just a few hundred churches being planted in far off places but of hundreds of thousands of people coming into relationship with Jesus, coming to knowledge of the light of God. It was a picture of multiplication, of God’s power reaching across political boundaries and bringing hope. We knew this was preparing us for something but, even after returning from our trip to SE Asia, the details were still unknown.
We enjoyed one last Walter Family Disney trip gifted by Mom and Dad and had a brief visit with Steve’s parents in Florida. While a decent number of the Walter extended family couldn’t be at Disney (including Lena and Wyatt), it was a nice time to be together and thank God for the memories of life Mom and Dad had provided. This sentiment carried right on into Lena and Colin’s wedding in September.
Thanks to Steve and Wyatt’s labor, a bit of my gardening, and of course Mom’s generosity, the property was beautiful on September 14. God provided the most perfect weather and clear blue skies to display an almost magical forest venue. With guests seated on benches made from lumber scavenged from around the property, and a backdrop of Grandpa’s Pond sparkling in the filtered sunlight, Lena and Colin exchanged their vows. This day was their beginning for sure, but for Steve and me, it was the most beautiful close to our “assignment” there at 572 Buck Rd in Lansing, New York.In those final weeks of August, God was faithful to reveal our next step, but nothing more. We were invited to participate in training with a small mission agency based in Dallas. On our February trip, we had met quite a few people associated with this group and we shared their love for Jesus and were infected by their passion to “launch disciple-making movements among peoples all over the globe who have yet to hear the name of Jesus.” We accepted the offer and again, proceeded to lay before God the details. Who would take the dog and cat? Where would we live? How would we pay for this? And we were not at all surprised when every single detail was taken care of.
In abiding with Him, listening and obeying without a plan delineated on a spreadsheet or answers to all our questions He is amazing us with His faithfulness. We know, engulfed in His light, we are where we need to be, and He will shine on that next step in His time. And in the brief time He has us here in Dallas (10 weeks in all), He has us in a place of sanctuary, a safe place to let Him strip off old rags and replace them with beautiful robes. This is in no way a time of comfort but in it we’re finding rest, a new way of responding to Him, and He is filling us with the desire to let others know about His light.
Our children have been so supportive as they each navigate their own lives.
Hannah and Tyler rejoiced with us in Tyler’s safe homecoming from his deployment. While facing numerous challenges like severe mold spreading throughout their military-issued home and accompanying health issues, they are also finding joy in their church family. Tyler has been given new orders but the details of which have yet to be revealed to him. Hannah continues to march toward the completion of her degree and is excited to see the end in sight. We are cheering them both to a finish line in August but what their steps will be after are still unknown.
Wyatt was not able to take his planned trip to Ecuador in February because of political unrest. This was disappointing but he continued to work on projects around the property and for others in the community. In August Wyatt moved to Philadelphia. He went without a job or a place to live. He has since found both, and he took the cat! His stories of the people he encounters, and his experiences are both tragic and beautiful. Wyatt is a dreamer, but like us, lives life a day at a time. His RV is still in Lansing and is available should you know of someone interested.
Lena and Colin are living in Newark, OH with Nugget. Colin is enjoying his job as a photographer and content creator on the marketing team with an outdoor company. We are so thankful for the blessing of two passions being combined into one job for him. Lena will be finishing her final two classes with Liberty and is excited to explore the idea of starting a marketing company in the car industry. They both love cars, and Lena has enjoyed her continued partnership with a company that hosts car racing events. She hopes her connections will open doors for more work in the industry.
Eva Lynn is still at Liberty, with Tater Tot and her 2 birds, and continues to find ways to renew. She started a new job as a gymnastics coach and really loves what she does. She also discovered a new love for powerlifting. This is a world about which Steve, and I know nothing. In the coming semester she was invited to join two resume-building design teams at Liberty. She is very excited about these opportunities, but as she looks ahead to life after college in 2026, she too is facing a cliff’s edge. We try to reassure her that we are all stepping one step at a time together. I wish I had learned this at her age.
So, what is next for us? We do know that we will finish our time here with Beyond (Beyond.org) and will be leaving with an even stronger resolve that in our unshackled, newly focused life we are to return to a mandate given to us in 1993 and in fact to all Jesus followers before He left this earth. We know we want to be a part of what God is doing and walking with those who are just finding Him. We are seeking His will on another trip to SE Asia and again trusting Him with the details. My job with ACU will end in a few weeks and we will officially be one hundred percent focused on the task at hand. While we wait for Him to provide for our needs, while we wait for His light to shine on our next steps, we will keep our eyes fixed on Him. Living in the laser focused light that shines just ahead of us on our path is exactly where we need to be.
We want to leave you with an image that I think will be understood by most of you. Close your eyes and imagine a common Christmas experience in western churches - the candlelight service. The room is quite dark and quiet. Bodies around you are only dark featureless shadows. In the front left corner of the room a single large candle is lit, shining a light on the face of a single person. Suddenly that shadow becomes Someone, revealing an individual with a life story. That person takes her candle and shares the flame with another. Now there are two faces, two lives, and a slightly larger area is illuminated. While the first person moves to the second row to light another candle, the second person leans to his neighbor and lights that candle. The original candle continues to share its flame with each row, triggering the sharing of light across the room. The individual lights are multiplying and the light in the room is growing. The warm light fills the room, but no single candle is doing all the work. It is the light that each person holds, light that originated from a single source, all combined to fill the room. Shadows become Stories as individuals emerge from the mass of faceless identities. So, it can be as the light of God spreads across the world. This is our desire to be a candle, lighting other candles with His light, encouraging others to share likewise. This we believe is God’s desire. That the whole world would be filled with His light. That in His light all darkness will flee.
As you celebrate this season of Christmas, how can you too share the light of Jesus? How can you join us in this story of bringing His light to the world, one step at a time? If you don’t know this light of the world that came in the form of a baby, let us share our flame with you. If you don’t know how you can share your flame let’s talk. If you are living in His light and this letter resonates with you, we ask that you pray for us as we wait expectantly to see His light shine at our feet illuminating the next place to step. There is so much more that we wanted to share but we know this letter has already pushed the boundaries of most attention spans. We send this with warm thoughts of you and who you are to us. We send this with hopes that we can connect in this coming year beyond our digital worlds. We send this with a thank you to those of you who have already offered to partner with us and in the hope that others of you will want to as well.
With much love and hope that the Light of the World will shine brightly on your path this year,
Steve and Tanya
