“Lost. We are lost.” Even though I knew I would eventually have to say it out loud, for now I would just keep it to myself. With the wind howling, the sun blaring, the rain quickening, my heart rate escalating, and a bunch of students questioning, we ventured off the trail and hiked straight uphill. The questions turned to complaints, which turned to whines, which turned to anger, which turned to silence. For roughly 1,000ft of elevation gain, the sound of my uncontrollable breath was clouded only by the pounding internal reminder that I had no idea where I was going. We wandered for what felt like hours and each passing moment of daylight made me acutely aware that I might be putting everybody’s lives at risk.
But off in the distance, 13,300 feet up and another few hundred feet up, I saw it. Like the glowing star that led the wise men to the newborn Jesus, our salvation was close. As I approached the iconic dead aspen tree trail marker, I was overwhelmed with joy, peace, and gratitude for God had given us a marker of his provision, an ebenezer of his faithfulness, a signpost of his love for us. Once at the post, we stopped, rested, and took a deep breath, the day was nearly over. The tree had a big, right arrow burnt into it to show us our new path, so we followed it until we reached camp knowing that it was at that tree where the Lord reminded us of his plan for us.
We all have major signposts in our lives. We all have those turning point moments where before we were traveling in one direction, but then God shepherded us in a new way to fulfill his perfect plans for our lives. Since 2024 began, the Lord has been shepherding our church down the specifically Gospel-centered and Christ-exalting path of bringing the good news of Jesus to every square inch of Richardson. With an evangelistic focus for the year, we have charted a new course and have begun to have Gospel Conversations with strangers at the grocery store, Buddhists at our parks, Muslims during Ramadan, atheists in our workplaces, the “nones” of younger generations on campus, and even within our diverse neighborhoods. Nearly 400 of you actively participated in this evangelistic focus just last weekend when we did our annual Help Your Neighbor Day.
This was my first HYND with Mosaic and it truly blew me away. I was convinced that I would be so wrapped up in logistics that the day would just pass me by. However, as I drove to a few different job sites, I witnessed compassionate care and Christ-like service to people who desperately needed help both physically and spiritually. You gave them flowers in their yards and hope in their hearts, you gave them cleaner parks to play in and deeper truths to believe in, brothers and sisters, you did a great thing. I will not forget this day.
Let this day be a reminder of God’s goodness and love for you and for the world. Let this day be a signpost in your life.
But remember, that trail marker I saw in the Colorado backcountry had an arrow burnt into the side of it. The signpost is a memorable moment, but the signpost also has an arrow. HYND sits on the path of your life, but it is also pointing you in a new direction. HYND serves as a re-commitment to serving and loving our neighbor, it is a highlight of a day, but it points us towards a continual commitment to our neighbors, our neighborhoods, our schools, our ministry partners, our town, and so much more. As you think about some opportunities to love and serve your neighbors moving forward, here are a couple ideas:
Brothers and sisters, I am so proud of the work that you did and I will continue to pray for you as you walk down this new path and consider the ways you can serve others in a significant way.
For His Glory and our good,
Finn Foster
