A New Path

The next chapter for Project Red Man

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Project Red Man never existed to be a call to action, cover one specific topic, or serve as informative writing. It has always been a reflection of my interests, my footing, and whatever happened to occupy my thoughts at a particular moment in life. It has simply been a place where I could sit down, collect my thoughts, and share them with anyone willing to spend a few minutes reading them.

Over the past few years, though, very little has come forth from my fingers to the keyboard. The simple truth is that I no longer have the passion for what this publication originally became: one man’s perspective on Oklahoma politics.

The past two years have brought an abundance of change to my life.

My wife finished her doctorate degree, which landed her in a new academic role in a town that was both new and familiar. To make her dream achievable, we spent nearly a year living apart while she focused on beginning the next chapter of her career, and I stayed behind getting our property ready to sell. It felt a lot like when we first got married and I was serving in the Marine Corps, except this time she was the one who deployed. I couldn’t have been prouder of her.

During that same stretch of life, I also parted ways with my gallbladder.

So long, good buddy. I still miss you.

My leadership team at work experienced a major shakeup when two of the best bosses I’ve ever had were tapped for different roles within the organization. Their departures created an opportunity for me to step further into leadership, and I was fortunate enough to be entrusted with that responsibility. My number of direct reports doubled overnight, growing from a little over one hundred people to more than two hundred. Naturally, that blessing also came with enough meetings to last several lifetimes.

Through all of those changes, something else quietly began happening.

I started feeling a pull to get outside.

The most important change, however, came after we finally moved into our new home together. My wife found a church that quickly became our church, and over the past year the Lord has used that church to challenge me spiritually in ways I never expected. The Holy Spirit began nudging me to walk. Get outside. Breathe fresh air. Feel the sun on my face. Walk.

It didn’t seem like much of a calling, but I obeyed.

Those walks have helped my health. They’ve helped my mind. They’ve helped my soul.

One afternoon while walking around the city lake, I passed a group of young Mormon missionaries heading in the opposite direction. As we crossed paths, they asked if they could stop and pray for me. I politely declined and kept walking.

Within a few steps, I felt awful.

Not physically.

Spiritually.

For the next mile, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Holy Spirit was correcting me. By the time I came back around the lake, I crossed paths with those same young men again. I stopped, apologized for turning them away, and asked if they would still pray for me.

They did exactly that.

There was no debate over doctrine. No conversation about who was right or wrong. No attempt to convince one another of anything.

There were simply four men standing together before God.

My walking presented the opportunity for God to be seen and heard.

My walking allowed God to be experienced.

As the months went on, the Holy Spirit continued laying two simple questions on my heart.

“Did you like how that made you feel?”

“How far are you willing to walk to share it with someone else?”

My answers came almost immediately.

Yes.

Let’s find out.

Those are bold words from someone who just turned forty-seven, who is badly out of shape and may even have another surgery ahead of him. Nevertheless, I believe the Lord is leading me to walk, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

Project Red Man isn’t becoming a travel publication. It isn’t becoming a hiking publication, nor is it becoming a devotional. At its core, it will remain what it has always been: a reflection of where I am in life and what occupies my thoughts. The difference is that today those thoughts are no longer centered on politics. They are centered on where God is leading me, and more often than not, that direction seems to begin with putting one foot in front of the other.

That means there will be walks through Oklahoma’s state parks, historical sites, forgotten places, and quiet corners of this state that many people drive past without a second thought. There will be adventures beyond Oklahoma as I finally begin taking some solo trips to places I’ve wanted to experience for years. There will be photographs, conversations with people I meet along the way, stories about places worth seeing, and no shortage of moments where the Lord chooses to teach me something I never expected to learn before I ever laced up my shoes that morning. Travel is simply the backdrop. The real journey is learning to pay attention to where God is already at work.

If these writings encourage someone to spend more time outside with their family, to appreciate the beauty of God’s creation, to challenge themselves physically, or—most importantly—to begin asking questions about the One who created all of it, then every mile I walk will have been worth it. My desire is no longer to spend my energy trying to change what man has built. The constructs of this world will never outlive the Father. I would rather spend whatever years He gives me pointing people toward something eternal than arguing over things that are temporary.

To those of you who originally subscribed because of Oklahoma politics, I sincerely understand if this next chapter is not what you signed up for. You gave me your time and attention over the years, and I do not take that lightly. Thank you for reading, for agreeing, for disagreeing, and for allowing me into your inbox. If this is where our paths part ways, I truly wish you nothing but the very best.

If, however, you decide to stay, I hope you’ll enjoy the journey. God will be the centerpiece of what I write moving forward. That doesn’t mean every article will be a sermon or a Bible study, and I have no intention of beating anyone over the head with Scripture. It does mean that I won’t shy away from talking about Him, because I can no longer separate what He is doing in my life from the experiences I hope to share here.

I honestly don’t know where these roads will lead. I don’t know which trails I’ll walk, what people I’ll meet, or what lessons God has waiting around the next bend. I only know that over the past year He has been faithful enough to call me outside, faithful enough to meet me there, and faithful enough to keep asking me to take another step.

So that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

If you’d like to come along, I’d be honored to have your company.

One final housekeeping note. Over the coming days my political posts will be disappearing. I want this publication to reflect where Project Red Man is going rather than where it has been. I don’t regret writing them, because they reflected where I was during that season of life. That season has simply come to an end, and I’m excited to begin the next one.

—Edrick