A couple of weekends ago I ventured to southern North Dakota for a friend's wedding (and what a lovely wedding it was). I had never driven to this small town before and I was navigating it alone, but I was prepared with my Google Maps directions. So on a beautiful summer morning I hit the highway in my Honda and ventured into uncharted territory...or at least uncharted to me.
I had no problems arriving at my destination, but there were moments of doubt in my head that I was on the wrong road and that I was going the wrong direction. I knew I wasn't, but still I had reservations from time to time and panic would pang my heart. I thought this was interesting because how often in life do we feel this way? We know where we need to go and how to get there and when we start progressing towards our destination we think we're all wrong and that we should go back.
It'd be so easy to go back. Easier yet, to stay where we are. That fear of getting lost, of getting it wrong can be paralyzing. The misleading comfort in routine can be intoxicating. But I think we need to trust ourselves more. We need to trust that we are prepared for adventure and lean on our faith. We need to believe in what we feel so deeply about in our hearts and not disregard it as silly--or let others do the same. Because if we do succumb to that fear and turn back, or we stay put our souls are hungry for more and we end up maintaining a life instead of really living life. We feel empty, inadequate, fake. We feel lost even though we know exactly where we are.
Maybe we need to get lost in order to be found. Maybe we need to get it wrong in order to understand what is right for us. And maybe the journey will be treacherous, long, and dangerous, but doesn't that sound a bit thrilling? Doesn't that sound like a wonderful opportunity to learn more about ourselves, our faith, our world?
