"Living In Mississippi Took 10 Years Off Of My Life."

When I heard this from my best friend from high school many years ago, I wasn't surprised.  He'd moved away after graduation with no intentions of returning.  At that particular point in time (relative to his statement), he was living in North Carolina with a friend who may now be his husband.  Reconnecting with him was one of the primary motivators for me to setup a profile on Facebook for a short stint, and yes, I had a sneaking suspicion that Greg was within a living a lifestyle of sexual sin.

Throughout this time of reconnection, thanks to the newly minted social media craze, Greg and I never actually talked.  Our only dialogue was electronic via email, therefore upon hearing this statement, I realized it was coming from a place I was neither equipped nor really interested in exploring.  He and I had spent the majority of our high school years together, therefore this level of criticism of Mississippi was akin to what I vividly remember of his extensive emotional immaturity.

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On the flip side of this statement is a Samson friend whom I first connected with a couple of three years ago.  This man is about my age, having found himself transferred to Mississippi due to his vocation a few years prior to involving himself in Samson Society.  I was privileged to be present during his first Samson Society meeting (and to eventually become his first Silas), and still today, he's chosen to attend meetings and stay committed to The Path.  What's amazing about this man is who he's now become.

It's not my place to tell his story here or otherwise, but having seen the man I saw today (at the Lakeside Pres Samson Society meeting), in contrast to who he was, it is amazing to behold.

In closing, I would argue his living in Mississippi actually added 10 years to his life due to him gaining access to a number of the Metro Jackson, Mississippi Samson Society meetings on a regular basis.  And this, of course, served to foster his journey along The Path and all the good that came from that.  Even if this man someday moves away from The Magnolia state to be closer to his childhood home or otherwise, I'm convinced that the impact God has made in and through him whilst here with us will carry forward.  I do not see the impact him living in Mississippi has made ever leaving this man.  Ever.  Thanks be to God!