'Life is a journey', or so the cliche goes. I've certainly had my fair share of journeys. I used to love them, back in the days when I was fresh out of my teenage years and ready to take on the world with the passion and naivety of youth. Now that I'm older, and I like to think, a little wiser, I yearn instead for stability, routine, and the comfort of the 'known'. I've spent so much of my life packing and unpacking and living out of a suitcase that what was once exciting has become wearisome. OK, and I guess packing for a husband and three kids in addition makes the task a lot more daunting than it once was!
Photo credit: freedigitalphotos.net / Poulsen Photo
For this last move I started packing up six weeks before we were due to leave. I did get a few comments that perhaps that was excessive, but I knew I needed to do it, for my own sanity. And now, finally, two weeks after arriving back home in the UK for our 'home leave', the suitcases are all unpacked and stowed away in various cupboards, hopefully to gather dust for a few months. I can breathe again, and relax! I love being settled.
However, God, it seems, doesn't like for us to be too settled. In my experience He likes to unsettle us, to push us out of our comfort zones, to suggest we walk that extra mile, when really we'd like to be back at home already with our feet up and a cup of tea in our hands. Jesus calls us to follow Him, and following someone involves leaving and moving and pressing onwards.
At the start of every New Year I often look back and wonder just how much I really have 'moved on' in the previous twelve months in my spiritual life and my walk with the Lord. There should be progress, there ought to be. It's part of our Christian calling. However, God also knows how important community is, and journeys are always much more fun if there's someone to talk to and share with along the way.
As the old African saying goes, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
My hope is, as I start afresh recording some of my life lessons on this blog, that there might be some out there who would like to join me on this journey through the potholes and hilltops and foggy patches and breathtaking views of motherhood, of 'wifehood' and of being a daughter of the King. I'm praying in faith for some wonderful walking companions so that we might be a blessing to one another.
I would be very honoured and encouraged if you would consider subscribing to my blog, leaving comments and help me build up a community of like-minded fellow travellers here at Grace to Abide. I look forward to our journey together!
Abide in Him!
