The Journey Begins

Posted on April 30, 2014

I’m someone who finds transitions difficult.  I’ve done a lot of moving in my life.  At this point, I don’t even keep count anymore.  My dad lived within one hour of his hometown for all but eight of his eighty years of life.  That’s hard for me to even fathom.

I suppose as Christians we should expect to be “journey people.”  In the Old Testament, God’s first word to Abraham was “Go…”  Moses spent 40 years journeying through a wilderness.  And Jesus and his disciples were always on the go.

Right now I am in the midst of transitioning from one congregation in Indianapolis to another in Lafayette, Indiana.  Part of the challenge of transitions, I think, is to view them as open space within our lives.  As we, in a certain sense, hang suspended between one location and the next, what – or more importantly who – fills that open space?  I can certainly find something to fill it – anxiety, uncertainty (when will my house sell?), tasks and “to do” lists (how have I acquired so much “stuff” since my last move?).  Or, I can reserve that open space for God’s grace.  As I prepare to move all that stuff… books, clothes, and furniture, what might God be preparing to do within me?  It will be up to me to take the time – to make the time – and notice where God’s Spirit is moving.

In one sense, the journey is just beginning; but, in another sense, it is always ongoing.  In all of our lives, regardless of geography, God’s Spirit moves within us and speaks the word:  “Go.”