“For the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” (Job 33:4 NLT)
“The LORD says, ‘I will give you back what you lost’…” (Joel 2:25a)
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12 NKJV)
Well, August 25, 2022 (my “62/32” birthday celebration) came and went. The Lord provided the way to fulfill the first half of my “Refirement Plan” by cutting back my work hours to part time, however, I was still waiting on the Him to release me into the traveling ministry assignment that He had given me. I guess there was still “waiting” to do.
Daddy walked with me through my “12 months of firsts” (11/21/21 – 11/21/22). During this transitional season in my life, “ministry” was put “on hold.” This meant more waiting before taking the Lord to the streets in my much anticipated dream of traveling in a “mini home on wheels.” With Mark moving in, I was able to leave my employment as a custodian at Res Life. My “job” became providing the elements of “assisted living” that Mark was receiving from his previous living arrangement. My “ministry” seemed to be primarily wrapped around both Mark and Savannah. So now what?
On January 19, 2023 Daddy spoke to my heart and said, “Let’s go Eric, it’s time to relaunch what we started.” I knew immediately that this was the time to start flooding the internet with new daily blog posts on refiretoinspire.com, and new daily YouTube videos on Refire and Inspire With Eric. It was also time to make final preparations to start publishing the Refire and Inspire Series of books. Lastly, it was time to begin preparing to launch a weekly Podcast (coming soon). Looks like the “waiting on the Lord” for this part of my “ministry life” was over. Thank you Daddy! But what about the traveling? What about the “mini home on wheels?” More waiting.
During the transitional period following Melody’s departure, My Granddaughter – Daughter Savannah requested that I allow her to live with her dad. You see, along with his wife and 2 year old daughter, her dad moved back to Michigan. He did this to be with Savannah in hope of restoring their long lost father – daughter relationship. After about a year of “trial and error,” “bumps and grinds,” and “back and forths,” the day came to terminate my guardianship and deliver Savannah to her “new family” (dad, step mom, and 3 year old step sister). So that is what I did.
Sadly, as hard as we all tried to make this new living arrangement work out, it just was not meant to be. Following an especially turbulent interchange between Savannah and her dad, Savannah called me to come and take her “home.” This was one of many cries for help. It was the culmination of a lengthy roller coaster ride that resulted in the three of us (Savannah, her dad, and me) agreeing that they were just not equipped to make a go of things. We mutually agreed that the best thing would be for me to once again step in and become Savannah’s guardian.
So here I am today, living in my 2 bedroom apartment, with my brother Mark and my granddaughter – daughter Savannah. I am once again petitioning the court for guardianship on the road to adoption. I am thrilled to have Savannah back. I consider it an honor to be counted worthy by my Daddy to be used as His hands and feet to assist my brother Mark on his road to recovery. And I am loving every minute of the “virtual ministry” that I am in the midst of developing. However, through faith and patience, I am still waiting on the fulfillment of Daddy’s promise (call) to send me on the road in my “mini home on wheels” to reach, refire, and inspire, the “Rise of the New Caleb Generation.”
This brings us into “real time,” as we move into the bright future that lies ahead on the “Road to Refirement.”
For the next few days I am going to share the “Mile Markers” that Daddy pieced together to lay the foundation for this “Road to Refirement” that I am traveling.