Sea otters hold hands at night so they don't drift apart

So I have this sweet gig for the Summer and the Fall if you have not heard. I'm leading trips in Alaska and then Yosemite with this company called Backroads. It really is great. Today I got paid to bike. Tomorrow I get paid to hike to a glacier. Later in the week I get paid to kayak. Can't beat that, right?

I told myself when I applied for Backroads that I would only do this job for a season. My heart is in ministry; in working with people and allowing the Gospel to really impact their lives. I love the outdoors and I love people so Backroads seemed like a perfect parenthesis in my life; a good job in between jobs in ministry.

It's hard to let this job be only that. I love it. I love where I go, what I do, and who I meet.

I also have had more opportunities to talk about my faith with people who don't have my convictions in the last month than I have in the last few years. It really has been great and surprising.

That said, there is something that is desperately missing.

Community.

I have made some incredible friends who will be that for a long time. I interact with people who inspire me, support me, and who I care for tremendously.

But I miss my Christian community. It's the hardest thing to have when you're job takes you all over and most Sundays are work days.I have made it to church several times in the last month. When I haven't been able to I tried to substitute it with a solo walk and prayer time.

It's not the same. Nothing can replace community with believers. They are my family.

The most impactful thing I have learned this year is that we are saved to community. In salvation we not only get a Father, but we get a surrogate family. We get brothers and sisters. And there is a bond that is chosen, it is deep, and it is necessary.

So that's what I miss. That's what I need. That's what is hard about my time with Backroads. The company is great. The job is unbelievable, but I need my time with the family. As much as I would love to do this more long term, that will probably be what keeps me from it. And that's okay.