Have you ever found yourself in a place and realized you
don’t remember how you got there? It’s
happened to me before when I’m driving.
I get to wherever I was going and think…I don’t remember making any
turns, stopping at lights, or passing any landmarks. I don’t remember blacking out, but I wonder if it could have
happened. Most of the time it
occurs because I’m deep in thought about something. And while this isn’t that big of a deal (besides the risk I
pose to other drivers), it reminds me of how a similar situation can happen in
our lives if we’re not careful. We wake up one morning and start to question
how we got to where we are. We take a look at our lives and realize we’ve been
going along with things and have gotten to a place we don’t even want to
be.
It’s easy to get caught in the motions of life and forget
what we are doing, why we are doing it, and if we even believe in it. But that doesn’t mean we have to
continue on the path we’ve found ourselves on. Although we may not be where we want or expected, we have
the power to make conscious decisions to change that direction.
The direction we would like to go though may not seem like a
wise decision. I have ideas and
thoughts all the time that I dismiss because they are too crazy, seem too
difficult, or it’s not the conventional way of doing it. I’m learning that that’s Ok…in fact;
it’s probably a good thing.
I’m constantly learning that there is always a bigger story
at work. There are things in
motion that can’t be seen. There
is a vision of what could be and a gap between the here and now, and the yet to
come. And that gap is waiting for
people to span it.
It is beckoning people who aren’t afraid to see something
more than the reality everyone faces everyday. It is waiting for someone who will say they can see the
potential…they can see it in perfection…they can see it the way God sees
it. That’s what we need. People who see a different world, a
different Christianity, a different way of following Christ…not because they
want to be different, but because they are different.
Forget the manuals, the roadmaps, the planning everything to
a T…and start using the creativity He gave you, start thinking in terms that
don’t make sense, start trusting in a God who does the impossible.
The norm we are used to is pathetic. It underestimates everything, trusts in
no one, and waits to be disappointed.
That’s a sad existence. I
don’t want to live there…and while it sounds stupid to live in that place, the
reality is…it’s comfortable. There
aren’t a lot of risks to take and you don’t have to think for yourself very
often. You can navigate through
life and not get your hands dirty or worry about too much. So if that’s your goal…to follow the
masses and arrive at death safely…go for it. You’ll have a lot of company on your journey.
But if you’re not satisfied with the status quo, let’s start
by waking up and pursuing something different. Let’s get on the path that’s going upstream, the path that
may not look clear or defined at times, the path that will undoubtedly terrify
us more often than not…but remember, it’s a path filled with passion, life
and freedom.
