We made the move to Base Camp. Been here about two weeks. Not settled in yet. Rained the first week. Out of town last week. Grass knee high in most places. Higher in some. Tractor won’t start. Need to get that figured out. Need to move some cattle in. Need to make the perimeter fence secure. Need to finish unpacking boxes. Need to… Need to…
And on and on the list goes.
And I am beyond grateful to be here…
Heather and I are dreamers. We’re explorers. We’re tryers. Trying and failing go hand in hand. And therefore, sure, we’re failers. Not failures. Some of the dreams we explore don’t work out. But some do. Serving full-time with Cru does. And so does Base Camp.
Making this move was really hard. Building the house certainly stretched my capabilities. I never had quite enough time… especially during the last three months. I wasn’t as available to my family or friends or work. But I have experienced a bunch of grace. God has done some really cool things in the lives of students and faculty. My team of co-workers have continued taking steps of faith, and #allthethings didn’t fall apart while way too much of my time and energy went into getting this house done and my family moved. Heather was pretty great in all of that too.
So, now that we have officially made the move to Base Camp, what have I learned?
I don’t have as much energy as I used to.
Some of that is physical fitness. Some is diet. Some is stress and anxiety. And some is age. As I write this, I’ve just turned 48 years old. I was complaining to a friend the other day about not being able to get done what I thought I should be able to get done. Everything seemed to take twice as long as I planned. This friend kindly reminded me that while, yes, my best days are ahead, my seemingly endless energy is most likely behind. That makes sense. My expectations were based on my 35 year old body. Sure, I can improve my energy levels greatly by being in good physical condition, eating and sleeping right, and minimizing my stress and anxiety, but I can’t be 35 again. So while I do expect to become increasingly more productive each year into the future, it will come more through smarts, focus, and other people than through my own physical energy.
I’ve wrestled a bit with the idea of getting older and have decided that it’s my favorite option. 🙂
Projects generally take longer and cost more than expected.
We all know this. It’s frustrating to be sure. But not surprising. And yet I regularly find myself in situations where I need to adjust expectations and schedules. It rains when rain isn’t expected. Someone gets sick. The item is on backorder. The delivery driver got lost.
While I don’t think we can make this go away completely, I do think I have some practical ideas to help: ask more questions, and build in more margin. Sounds simple.
I need to figure out what only I can do and focus on that while letting others do the rest.
Heather and I have hopes and dreams.
They’re always out in front of us but their pursuit is in full chase today.
We want to have great relationships with our kids when they grow up. We want them to want to come spend time with us. We want them to want their kids to come spend time with us.
We want to see multiplying movements of faculty and college students on 20 campuses within our ministry scope by 2026.
We want our ministry partners to look back over the years and say, “Partnering with Gene and Heather has been one of our greatest joys.”
We want to help create a network of Christian faculty representing campuses all over San Antonio and South Texas. What if there were 30 aligned and equipped professors introducing our team to the right students ready for discipleship and coaching to reach all the campuses in our area?…
I want Heather to be glad she said yes.
I want to be connected to my parents, brother, and extended family.
I want each person on our team to know that their work matters, that they are appreciated, valued, trusted, and working in their own unique abilities.
I want to see The Base Camp Journal grow and Base Camp Beef Company become a meaningful family business that exposes and trains our kids in entrepreneurism, work ethic, and opportunity.
These are my priorities… the things that are most important to me.
If I do things others could do, I won’t have time to do what only I can do.