In July/August of 2008 I got a call from the now former COO of HopeChest relating that he was going to be changing his role with the organization and wanted to know if I would be interested in joining the organization. We had a number of conversations over the following months and they formerly offered me a position to join the team in October.
It had been intriguing for both Julie and I to consider joining the organization and being 'all in' for the care of the orphan, of which God has planted a deep desire in both of us. Once a decision was required the stakes changed and I had to deal with realities that would result in sleepless nights and abandonment of long held 'personal truths'.
The list of questions to which the answers I could not rationalize were long.
Why would we be called to leave family, the mission of TDM (the company that I was running) and the Louisville Orphan Care Initiative (LOCI)? How would we make the transition financially?
I had long thought that our family finances were something that I had surrendered. To say the least, this experience showed me that I had indeed not surrendered 'control'.
The obvious question of anyone taking a look at this entry in conjunction with the first would ask why did you send the letter of interest. The answer is simple: Considering obedience is easy but being obedient in this case was a challenge.
In late November Julie and I were at a point where we needed to give HopeChest a decision. We targeted a Friday night to 'stay up' until we came to a conclusion. After hours of conversation, very late that night Julie said:
'Bob, I am behind you no matter what the decision. As the leader of the family, you need to make a call'.
We went to bed that evening not having made a decision. I awoke at 4 am, sat down with my bible and concordance to do a study on 'the fatherless' and 'obedience'.
The decision was made in less than 10 minutes...... I sure wish I had done that earlier in the process.
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