I am back in Orange County for Catalyst West. It is hard to believe that just 3 years ago this trip started my love affair with this oh so beautiful place. It is hard to believe that 2 years ago this trip solidified that change was afoot and Southern California was calling. It is hard to believe that last year this time California was home and I was welcoming friends into my new playground. It is hard believe I left there 9 and a half months ago. It is hard to believe I ever lived there at all.
I wrote about it some, not as much as I would have liked. I just never was clear about what that time was about…exactly.
Looking back I can only seem to recall the contrasts.
The bright days and the dark days. The group friends who became like family and the solitude. The adventure and the rest. Feeling lost and being known.
This is all I am sure of: my time in California was good for me.
It gave me a chance to hit ‘restart.’ It gave me space to rest. It allowed me to step out of a comfortable and familiar Christian-centered context and see the world through a wider lens. And it made me stronger, more determined, and more passionate about the things I believe in and the pursuit of Truth.
Yes, there is an obvious wistfulness about time in Orange County. And specifically at Catalyst West.
So today I am going to go put my feet in the ocean, I am going to have coffee with a dear friend, I am going to learn from the incredible group of leaders that Catalyst has assembled, I am going to eat sausages {when they are this good you don’t call them hot dogs} and cheer on the LA Dodgers, but mostly importantly I am going to soak up the sun.
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