I’m writing this on the my last day as a United Methodist and as a clergy.

Turns out, it’s just another day.

I say that — not flippantly — but because I’ve gone through all the emotions and processed everything about the transition that now, I’m simply ready to begin the new journey tomorrow (July 1).

After the meeting with the Bishop on Ash Wednesday and knowing that I won’t have job security come July 1, I drove home putting on a random playlist on Spotify. The first song that came on was Josh Radin’s cover of Three Little Birds.

I was scared as hell but I felt that I wasn’t ever going to be alone on this journey.
… every little thing is going to be alright…

We just got back from a lovely trip to Belize thanks to a generous and lovely woman who we affectionally call “Nana.”

The first two days was spent in the jungle.
The resort’s name was Sweet Song.
The WiFi password was a variation of three little birds.
This was the sign to their dining area:

My favorite drink there was called “Three Little Birds.”

It felt like a solid, reassuring bookend to the journey that was.
I felt assured. I feel assured.
I know that the road that lies ahead isn’t going to be easy, but I have assurance that I’m surrounded by a cloud of witnesses and that God is with me.

It looks like I’ll be in Texas longer than anywhere else I’ve been.
That in of itself feels foreign.
We moved from Korea to the US when I was 6.
Lived in the LA area for a year then moved to South Carolina.
5 years later, we found ourselves in Santa Barbara, CA.
Then Hawaii — 5 years later.
I moved to DC for school for 3 years. Met my wife. Told her if she married me, she’d live in Hawaii. So she agreed and we moved back to Hawaii until I realized –a year in and much to the chagrin of my wife — that I couldn’t live in Hawaii. After only 2 years in Hawaii, we moved to Orange County. After 1.5 years in the OC, moved to Valencia. 2.5 years later, found ourselves in Santa Barbara. 4 years after that, we made a home in Texas.
Basically, we moved around. A lot.

We’ll be in Pearland, TX for the long run.
I can’t wait to see how God’s vision will manifest in West Pearland.

In all the ups and downs we’ll face; all the failures we’ll no doubt encounter — I carry with me the assurance that every little thing will be okay because God is with us and God is for us.

So yea, in the words of Tim Riggins, Texas Forever.

(Please forgive me for all the grammatical mistakes. Hopefully y’all understood what I meant)