When I was a child I loved the story of Laura Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie. As an adult I love it still….there is something about Laura’s adventuresome spirit that resonates with me. My mind full of analogies compares the beginning of the journey I am about to embark on to the journey of the Ingalls family as they headed West.
As I pack my bag, I feel a bit like a pioneer packing my wagon as I try to figure out what worldly possessions I want to take with me for a year and then make them fit in my backpack. I envision my journey this year being a bit like that of a pioneer such as the Ingalls Family as I pack my bag and leave the surroundings I know and head into the unknown.
The trail West was littered with discarded items to make the wagons lighter for travel as they forded rivers and rough mountain passes. All of these items discarded along the way represented hope of something better ahead. They represented a change. The pioneers were leaving their worldly possessions behind and tackling the hard journey because their eyes were fixed on the hope of what was to come…a home out West. Even though I do not have any trunks of china, boxes of books, or any furniture that I will be leaving along my journey, I can foresee this as being a year that represents change for me. Although I may leave a small trail of possessions along the way(my pack weighing in at 43 pounds seems as though it is full of lead bricks after hauling it around a while), I think that the greatest sense of change for me will be in my spiritual life.
This year is a year that I feel God has asked me to give to Him to work in my life. This journey and process will involve a lot of work in my heart as God shapes me and molds me to make me more like who I should be through Him. The Scripture of John 15 that God gave our team when we were first formed was about how the vineyard is pruned in order to produce fruit. This analogy is used to show that in order to produce fruit in our own lives, those things that are not pleasing to God must be cut away. The process is not always easy but the hope that lies ahead of a closer relationship with the God I love is something I want to keep my eyes on. My prayer is to have an open and receptive heart to the working of God in my life this year in order that He is able to prune away those things that are displeasing to Him and that which have become barriers keeping me from growing in Christ. So, Westward Ho my friends! Let the journey begin.
