Life itself is a communication

After growing up a “creeker” in Martin County, Kentucky, Dwayne and his family had moved to Illinois, outside of Chicago. There were more people there. Better schools, better opportunity, better ‘quality of life’. Life seemed to be working. The kids had lots of extracurriculars, lots of friends.

But a voice within began to emerge, and before long the family was praying on a return home to its roots along the banks of the Tug River. Before long, God had provided an opportunity for Dwayne to become pastor of the church where his father had been pastor, Turkey Creek Church of the Nazarene.

And a year into their return, in 2013, as he walked out of the family house after a rainstorm and looked out towards an abandoned elementary school, he saw a rainbow. At that moment, God gave two promises to Dwayne:

1. Where children once used to play, they now play again.

2. If it can happen in Martin County, it can happen anywhere.

And although he didn’t know exactly what these words meant, he spent the years since that day~ living in alignment with those two communications. Eventually, he left his job as pastor to helm Appalachia Reach Out. Lots of work to build up Eastern Kentucky including helping people after natural disasters and bringing families into the area through vacation Bible schools. A couple summers ago as he got out of the van, he heard children playing and laughing in Warfield Park, and realized that God’s first promise had come to be. Where children once used to play, they now play again.

And each year, through work at Appalachia Reach Out more people from around the country have come to Inez, KY to volunteer. From these experiences, people return home to spread the good will created/found at ARO. If it can happen in Martin County, it can happen anywhere.

And of course the work is never done, the arrival never complete, but here’s to listening to the communications we receive from God. Here’s to knowing life itself is a communication and the quality and integrity of our response to it is the true test of man.

best thoughts,

graham