The Main Thing.

The old saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plan,” is feeling very apropos. 

A year ago we shared our intention to move to OKC so we could better assist Tom’s dad who has been diagnosed with Alzheimers. Our chief desire was to renovate a rental home Tom’s maternal grandfather built in OKC, allowing us to be next to Eddie. To make this happen, we started raising up leaders in San Antonio to facilitate the 12 small groups working with Innovative Truth, as we are charged in scripture (2 Timothy 2:2).

You have partnered with Innovative Truth for a very long time. So please know my heart when I say with love, discipleship can be messy. Over the past year, some leaders have jumped in beautifully. Others have struggled.  Some directly said, “I’m only doing this while you and Tonya are out of town.” As true with adults, as on college campus; there can be a lot of resistance to accepting God’s call. It was imperative that we never let anyone in San Antonio feel abandoned while we were attempting to build ministry in OKC. God kept His hand right on top of us during the transition.

More to come in the next letter, but today we’d like to share the timeline of  God’s detour to our plan.
Last fall we sold a SA rental home, allowing us to take advantage of an unexpected opportunity to purchase a small house across the street from the home we were renovating in OKC. This was a blessing since the original plan to build on the empty lot (left to Tom after his mother’s passing) suddenly became way too expensive after the new administration entered office in 2021.  The house needed a lot of work, which is why we were able to get a deal, but we knew it was mostly work we would do ourselves. That’s right folks, we then found ourselves renovating two houses simultaneously. We do not recommend this type of undertaking and often cannot believe what we have accomplished.

In the meantime, we had a buyer for Tonya’s house in San Antonio. After a few months of preparing for that sale, the buyers decided to go in another direction. It was about then we, along with Eddie and his doctors, recognized there had been progression with the Alzheimers that could not be ignored. It became necessary for us to be in San Antonio with Eddie’s doctors. Tonya was still getting treatment there, and we wanted to assist the small groups requesting guidance as well. The sale of Tonya’s home falling through became a gift so we had a place to stay for those months. We realized, Eddie would be best cared for in a retirement community that offers assistance as needed, yet gives him a place of his own with a lively group of residents sharing their days in scripture, games, food and fellowship. Eddie having a routine was a more loving option than awaiting the slow moving train of house renovations. After much searching, God ultimately led us to a lovely community in OKC just six miles from the small house we purchased. With Julia’s help, we were able to get Eddie moved in and assist him in the transition. Sadly, both of Eddie’s surviving brothers have passed in 2022. Yet because we listened to God, Eddie was in the right place to be able to spend time with his family. He continues to visit with his sister. He is doing very well and thriving as he makes new friends and settles into his church.

​More to come, but for now please love us as we strive to make the main thing the main thing.