I started writing 10 years ago. I can remember like it was yesterday. The president of a non-profit political action group was speaking at our pastor’s round table. He was sharing about ways our group of pastors could get involved in the political process in West Virginia. One suggestion was for us to write short articles that the group could post to their website and blog.

At that point I had a minor interest in politics. I attended a rally with my family when George W. Bush came to our small neck of the woods. I knew my position on certain high level topics, and I enjoyed communicating. So I thought writing would be a great opportunity for me to help, make a difference, and get better at communicating.

Since then I’ve written more than 1,500 articles using more than 1,000,000 words to communicate a variety of topics.

My original focus, writing about the issues of life, marriage, and religious freedom, has broadened. In addition to these topics that continue to be both controversial and essential to our culture, I frequently write about a broad range of theological topics, cultural events, and money.

I’ve had the privilege of having articles appear in local newspapers, national websites, and many different blog sites across the country.

Now it’s time to take a break, step away from writing for a short period of time.

It’s funny how life changes in ways you never fully expected. You can plan for some things, but not in a fully comprehensive way until the time comes. The season of life I currently find myself in is like that. It’s been somewhat planned for the last 2 years but, now that it’s here, there’s a lot to think through.

When my family moved to Maryland more than two years ago it was to be close to my in-laws. I don’t want to violate their privacy, but suffice it to say that it has been helpful for us to be close. And now the time has come for us to step into a greater role of serving them.

It has been an interesting discussion for my wife and I as we talk about our desire to serve her parents and help with their care. We live in an area of the country where nursing homes and care facilities are on every corner. The logical thing to do is get someone into one of these facilities rather than to alter your life in any tangible way. Especially if someone is disabled.

I understand why people lean towards that decision. Husband and wife both work a lot of hours each week. The kids are all in sports, scouts, dance, and the school drama club. Frequent trips to the beach are normal. Life is busy.

It’s hard to disrupt life to be a caretaker for anyone, even a parent. It’s hard enough to get the bills paid, the lawn mowed, the groceries bought, the laundry done, go to the sports events and birthday parties, plan a vacation, participate in the fantasy league, and wash the cars. How could there possibly be time to care for aging parents and a disabled sibling?

I don’t know.

As we’ve moved closer to this decision I have become more overwhelmed with the depth of it. How can we maintain our family rhythm while integrating others into our lives? What identity as a family will we retain if we undertake this change?

I don’t know.

I’ve got more questions than answers. What I do know is that we are called to “honor your father and mother.” What this means practically is likely to look different for each person. For us it means taking on a role as caretakers.

As we move into this new phase of life I’m realizing that walking by faith each day is more practical than it sounds. By nature I’m a planner and I like to plan today, tomorrow, and ten years from now. God has been gently rocking my canoe since I was a kid. With each wave that rocks the boat He reminds me that faith doesn’t necessarily see ten years into the future. And sometimes faith doesn’t even see next week.

So we are learning to walk by faith today. And tomorrow.

That means I need a few weeks to make this transition and get acclimated to our new “normal.” Not much time for writing. Our family would appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks. And I will look forward to picking up where I left off as soon as possible.

If you have some practical thoughts on how you navigated a similar journey, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to share your experience with us.

Blessings.