As I sit and write this, I’m staring at the unlikely-to-be-fully-equipped duffel of my second boy who is leaving tomorrow for his first stint at overnight camp. It’s overflowing with things that he may or may not need. I can hear his restlessness as he hopes I don’t hear his footsteps upstairs.

He’s excited and unsure and extra sure that he will be awesome at archery, which he’s tried once.

He knows he will have a lot to show me but he still needed an extra snuggle tonight.

I looked down on him, the flow of his forehead, slope of his cheek, and ski jump of a nose; the same view as when I snuggled him as a baby. He wore the same pensive look he used to when he was thinking about embarking on this new world and new independence. Whether he was 18 months or 8 any new step required contemplation and hugs.

He’s not the only one looking into a future with changes and new ventures. It was announced this morning that our family is embarking on a new ministry adventure, one that is away and different.

As I held my son, as I saw his uncertainty and excitement, it resonated in the gong of my soul.

How often we sit in the embrace of the God who loves us and realize that when we leave that moment we’re stepping into the unknown?

I snuggled my son a little closer. He’s going to love it. He’s going to do so well. He’s going to make new friends and maybe he will be awesome at archery.

And he may have bumps and bruises. There may be kids there who struggle and counselors who struggle. He may feel out of his depth.

I was reminded today of the call of Abram. How he was going into the unknown, away from his family and the place  he felt comfortable and safe.

He was going with the promise of God, in the promise he would find people and he would love and serve them and be a blessing as this presence of God shines out of him.

I can only imagine he was excited and afraid. I can imagine that he wanted to stay in his father’s hug a little longer. I can see him on the hillside with God, reluctant to leave the steadfast presence because here, with his God, he was safe and known.

But the dreams were bigger than him. The call was deep and exciting and he knew that this calling of God was for him and through him.

Stepping out is complicated. Whether you’re 9 years old and wondering what it will be like in this new place you’ve dreamed of for a year or whether you’re 39 and nervously excited for what God has planned for you and the people you love and will leave and those you will grow to love. Excited to go and grieving the leaving.

My young lad is doing something none of his siblings have ever done. He is scared and brave and nonchalant and twitchy. Me too.

What I do know is that the God who calls also paves the way and walks with us step by step. He knows our lying down in bunk beds and getting up to pack a house. He gives us hope and a future and calling. Chances to grow and learn and love people deeply along the way.

So please pray for us, as we begin this new step and dig our toes into new ground. We trust this God as we rest in his arms and hear the whisper of his voice. We know that God goes with us and before us, as he always has. And we see good things ahead.