{From the Front Porch // The Trajectory of Life Can Change in an Instant}

 Written on 9/6

It’s Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., and we are headed to our very first hockey game of the new season. The air feels different...crisp with anticipation, heavy with the sound of gear being packed, and light with the chatter of excitement. And as I sat there reflecting, it struck me just how quickly the trajectory of life can change.

Not too long ago, just two short years, we would have still been in bed at this hour, enjoying a slow Saturday morning. Sports were never really Mason’s thing. He tried them all, but nothing ever seemed to “stick.” We figured that maybe athletics just weren’t where his passions would lie. And then, in one simple moment, everything changed.

One Dallas Stars game. That’s all it took. One night of bright lights, roaring crowds, fast skates on the ice...and a spark was lit in Mason’s heart that hasn’t dimmed since. From that moment, it was as if God redirected the course of our family’s story. Now, here we are, living a life that looks completely different than it once did. Weekends are filled with hockey gear, practices, games, early mornings, late nights, and car rides filled with laughter, encouragement, and sometimes even sleepy silence.

And yet, I wouldn’t trade a single second.

Isn’t that just like God? In one moment, He can shift the path before us. What feels like an ordinary day can suddenly become the day everything changes. Scripture reminds us of this truth: We can make our plans, but it is ultimately God who orders the steps of our lives. Mason’s story is a beautiful reminder to me of how God places passions, gifts, and opportunities in our paths, sometimes when we least expect it. Two years ago, we couldn’t have dreamed of the life we are living now. But God, in His grace, charted a new course for our family, one that has brought joy, community, and a new sense of purpose.

Friend, maybe you’re standing at the edge of change, or maybe you feel like nothing is “sticking” in your life right now. Can I encourage you? God knows the trajectory of your life, and He can shift it in an instant. Sometimes all it takes is one “Dallas Stars game”...one small spark that He uses to redirect your steps toward the calling He has prepared for you.

Today, I’m grateful for the change, for the early mornings, for the noise of the rink, for the progress I’ve seen in Mason, and most of all, for the grace of God that rewrites our stories.

Because truly, life looks different these days. And I am loving every second of it.