“Not all those who wander are lost.”
Tolkien
I have walked to “the Parks” countless times. But today, I was praying, deep in thought and passed the road I was supposed to turn on. I was deep in the neighborhood streets where all the homes look the same for blocks and blocks. I also had my earphones in my ears and literally was just not paying attention. Coming to a dead-end street that ended in tennis courts, I suddenly realized I had not been paying attention and was lost. I had to walk a little bit out of my way, walk down a wrong street, turn around, but finally found a back entrance I had never seen to the many acres of pathways where I often walk. You see, I had walked these roads to one of the back entrances to the park but I knew the way, not the names of the streets.
This was not the only time I have been lost. It is fairly common to a walking life in a new international city. One has to learn the ropes, the way to what eventually become familiar places. When I first moved to Oxford a few years ago, I ended up late one night in a very dark part of town where my cell phone did not work. The streets unfamiliar to me seemed to go in circles. But, I didn’t panic. I was used to getting lost in international cities on occasion from the first time I moved overseas. Patience and taking my time always led me back home to a familiar place. Tolkien seemed to get it right, all who wander are not lost necessarily, but on their way to finding their destination eventually.
Many people I have talked to right now feel like they are wandering through life, feeling a bit lost in their journey. We are all trying to make plans that will be cancelled, trying to make sense of life while being home all the time. Some are faring better than others.
Life has taught me that even when I feel lost, I am not lost to God. He sees me, loves me, has an ultimate purpose and will lead me as I hold His hand and walk with Him.
In Psalm 139: 7-12, David, who was beloved by God, but had to walk through so many years of running away from Saul, wrote:
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.
Even in the darkest of places, where we cannot see at all what is ahead or behind and we feel lost, we see that darkness is not dark to Him.
Each year, people are quite taken with planning and goal setting in an new year. I love to make goals. But I heave realized that the most important and foundational planning for me is for spiritual direction. If I “right” my heart before God, He will give me peace that passes understanding, He will grant me wisdom, He will give me his gentle companionship, He will be with me every step of the way.
Today, I am providing a podcast that I hope will help and encourage you right where you are. Tomorrow, I will have a blog that speaks directly to the importance of decluttering our souls—taking away the doubts, the guilt, the fears, the stress and making a plan of how to stay close to our precious, loving Father, whatever befalls us during this new year, 2021.
May God grant us all grace and peace.
