Lately, I’ve found myself caught in a loop of thought: “Life shouldn’t feel this way.” But the truth is—it does. It feels uncertain. Disorienting. Foreign. And the more I sat with that, the more I began to realize: maybe that’s exactly the point.
Scripture speaks of us as “strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). If that’s true, then why would life ever feel entirely settled? Why would it feel normal to live in a world that is not our home?
That reflection hit a little closer to home than usual. I’ve spent the better part of two decades at The Austin Stone—a place where I’ve known rhythms, relationships, and the confidence that comes from familiarity. Now, I’m stepping into something completely new with the Greater Austin Mission Society. There’s vision. There’s hope. But there’s also strangeness.
And in that space, the Lord has been kind. He reminded me: it’s not ultimately about how things feel—it’s about what He is doing.
Jesus told us that “the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed… the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree” (Matthew 13:31–32). That imagery is quietly powerful. The work of God often begins in ways that feel insignificant. It rarely feels strong or obvious at the start. But small seeds, stewarded in faith, grow.
When I get stuck in the loop of “things shouldn’t be this way,” I need to remember that God does His best work through what feels small, slow, and strange. The discomfort I’m feeling may not be a sign of failure—it may be the beginning of growth.
So if life feels strange for you too, maybe it’s not a problem to solve. Maybe it’s a signpost of the kingdom—a mustard seed in the making.
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