When I was shopping for the World Race, picking up the (almost) endless list of things I needed, one of my top priorities was to buy a journal. I have developed the discipline of journaling the past 3 years so I knew I would need a wonderful new journal to begin my year following God around the world. I walked into Barnes and Noble, and I was looking at the wide array of options for journals and I spotted one I had to have. On the front cover, in beautiful writing, are the words “Not all those who wander are lost.” I giggled to myself, knowing what that quote was actually from: the wonderful book series the Lord of the Rings.
In my last blog post, I wrote on the first line of a poem from Lord of the Rings “All that is Gold does not Glitter.” The second line of the poem just happens to be that quote from the front of my journal “Not all those who wander are lost.”
When I bought the journal, I loved it not only because it was from Lord of the Rings, but also because I felt it would describe the adventure I was about to go on with my Lord.
How right I have been, and how God has been touching my heart and soul through those words.
I will be physically wandering, from nation to nation, ministry to ministry, people group to people group month after month and it will be difficult. Leaving Mozambique and Beacon of Hope was hard, and I know I will feel that same sorrow when leaving Malawi and Destiny Ministries International. As a wise friend said to me recently, I will see God’s hand and have God’s love for the people and places you meet, but it will never be “a place to rest your head” (Luke 9:58).
When reflecting on this reality, the reality of being a true wanderer for a year of my life, God helped me to realize what the next part of the line can mean to me: that I am not lost, but I am being found and I am finding Him in ways I would never have been able to do if I was not wandering, doing His will where ever I am. I am coming to learn who I am in Him, to be self-aware, and who He really has for me to me. And like it says in Jeremiah 29:13, when I seek my God I will find him because I am seeking Him with all my heart.
So I can rest assured knowing though I wander I’m not lost but rather I’m being found and I have the wonderful, unexplainable ability to find my Lord.
