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“Left Foot. Right Foot.” From the Heart and Desk of Mark Beeson

Orginally published on Thursday, November 23, 2006 at 5:03 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Here's a letter that Pastor Mark Beeson shared with his church the week of the 20th anniversary of Granger Community Church. This was shared by his daughter, Amber, recently at her blog. Congrats to Granger on 20 years of making a difference...

I wanted to share this letter that my dad wrote to the congregation at Granger Community Church this week. Every now and again he writes these “From the Heart and the Desk of Mark Beeson letters, and I thought this one was well worth blogging! We will be celebrating 20 years at GCC this coming weekend, and this letter talks a little bit about what it has taken to get here.

“Left foot. Okay. Good. Now your right foot. Great. You ready?”
Now our boots were completely saturated with scent eliminator spray; no chance the deer would smell us. Aaron grinned. I caught his smile and asked, “What’re you thinking?”
“I was just remembering.” he replied, “We’ve done this since I was a little kid. It’s always the last thing we do before we head out. Now we’re doing it again. You always say, ‘Left foot. Right foot.’ And we’re on our way.”
For twenty years I’ve been hunting with my son. Doesn’t seem that long, but it’s true. Two decades of time, conversation, shared adventure and cherished memories flood back into my mind as I walk into the woods behind my son.

“Left foot. Right foot.”
I used to lead him every step of the way; now he seeks a good path for both of us. I once carried all our stuff; he now carries his gear and some of mine. I taught him to take note of each footfall, making sure he broke no sticks and made no noise; now I can’t hear him as he moves ahead of me in the woods. Once upon a time he reached up to hold my hand; now he looks me in the eye.

“Left foot. Right foot.”
It used to be that Sheila would see us off for our early morning hunts saying, “I know you’ll keep an eye on Aaron.” I remember that this day her parting words weren’t to me. She spoke to her son, “Take care of your dad, Aaron.” As I recall, he turned and gave her a nod and a smile, apparently offering enough assurance for her to wave us out the door.

“Left foot. Right foot.”
It’s been a good twenty years. A few have been easier for us than others, but we’ve shared the trek and walked together every step of the journey. Somewhere along the way we reached a tipping point, a shift in role and relationship that enriched both our lives. He grew up—all my children grew up. They know the Way and we walk together even when we are apart. Our unity is not determined by our proximity; we are closer than mere distance can separate. We have our bearings. Our direction is set.

“Left foot. Right foot.”
For twenty years I’ve been serving Jesus beside you at GCC. Doesn’t seem that long, but it’s true. Two decades of time, conversation, shared adventure and cherished memories flood back into my mind as I walk beside you into our future. It’s been a good twenty years. A few have been easier for us than others, but we’ve shared the trek and walked together every step of the journey. We have our bearings. Our direction is set.

We’ve been traveling for twenty years and somewhere along the way we reached a tipping point, a shift in role and relationship that enriched all our lives. Our church grew up. For two decades we’ve walked in sync. Now we’re poised to do it again. We’ll take our next steps toward Christ – together. So, as I always say, “Left foot. Right foot.” I’ll see you this weekend at GCC’s 20th Anniversary, “and we’re on our way.”

Mark Beeson


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  There are 6 Comments:

  • Posted by

    Wonderful article. It reminds me what Creps is talking about in “Off-Road Disciplines” when he talks about reverse mentoring. At some point, we need the next generation to mentor us as we get older, especially in this rapidly changing culture. And what a great walk through the woods THAT will be!

  • Posted by Todd Rhoades

    Hey… I’m happy to announce that Earl Creps has just agreed to be a weekly writer here at MMI starting this next week!  I think he’ll add a lot of great discussion to the site!

    Todd

  • Posted by Leonard

    What a great example of what happens when someone seeks to present Christ with clarity, creativity and excellence.  What a great example of what it means to be a lifelong learner.  What a great example of what it means to stay someplace to do the work of God.  What a great example of what it means to let your team be great at what they do so you can be great at what you do.  Thanks Mark Beeson and may God give you another 20!

  • Posted by Amber Cox

    Thanks for the link love, and for passing along this letter from my dad.  I think there is a lot to learn from him, and that he is a great example to follow because he’s following Jesus.

  • Posted by Abaddon

    I want to see your heart!

  • Posted by Teak Furniture

    Very nice article, I’ll share it to my friends.

  • Page 1 of 1 pages

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