Wandering
It begins so early now. By mid-September, stores are displaying a full assortment of Christmas decorations. It’s still too hot in Georgia to breathe. Still, Home Depot has inflatable snowmen, snowflakes with twinkling lights, and artificial Christmas trees taking up a huge section at the front of the store, competing for space with the odd and creepy Halloween merchandise.
By the time Advent falls within the church calendar, we are likely a bit jaded, feeling Christmas fatigue, and may already be thinking about Spring. In this hyper-commercial and fast-paced age, it is challenging to balance the demands of our culture and the need to create the space for satisfying our spiritual longings.
I am reminded of a story of a young boy walking with his uncle in a field recently blanketed with fresh snow.
The pair entered through one gate, heading to the opposite gate. The uncle took the direct path, gate to gate, his footprints marking a nearly straight line as there were things to be done and no time to waste. His nephew found so much within that field to explore. There were footprints of small animals and birds that had left impressions, as well as the odd shapes of hay bales and farm machinery blanketed in white that needed to be investigated. The uncle stood patiently by the gate, waiting for his young nephew to meet him there. This was an opportunity for an important life lesson, he thought.
When the boy finally got to him, the uncle got down on his knee as they both looked back toward the gate from which they had come. The uncle’s path was direct, while the boy’s was anything but straight, marking a circuitous route from one gate to the next. “What do you notice about the paths that each of us took,” he asked the nephew. Not waiting for a response, he continued, “I took the direct path, not wasting time or giving in to the potential distractions around me. You wandered through the field, which meant that your path took much longer than it should have.”
Upon reflection later in life, the nephew recognized that moment as the one in which he promised himself that as he went through life, he would be sure always to take the time to explore and not bypass all the interesting things the direct route missed.
I am reminded of this story when I get so stressed by the lengthening list of things to do or the pressure I feel to acquire and maintain all the stuff that is meant to make my life better. I “don’t have time” to pray or spend time in the Word. There is too much to be done. I would love to have the “luxury” of having time to set aside for prayer and meditation, reading, and solitude, but I have somewhere to be and many things to do.
Our spiritual lives are not a distraction but a blessing God provides to fill our lives with meaning and purpose. Spirituality represents an opportunity to be introspective, gaining a deeper understanding of our connection to God, grounding us in a way that the incessant activity can never do. While pursuing our spiritual lives might look to others as though we are wandering like a boy in a field of snow, the longing within our spirit for connection with God is there to pull us off the path, occasionally ensuring that we don’t miss out on the most important things.
Our culture encourages us to rush from thing to thing, season to season; there is no time to waste. The next time you see Christmas decorations in September or Spring fashion displayed in January, let these be a gentle reminder to get off the path and wander for a moment in your connection with God.
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As RPC’s Associate Pastor for Mission Outreach, Rev. Dr. Dan Kreiss, has a heart for service and a diverse array of experiences in the mission field. Be sure to subscribe to the Mission Outreach Blog to read and follow along as he documents his personal journey and shares his vision for RPC’s mission outreach commitment. Along with providing meaningful resources, this blog will help jumpstart the important conversations our church community must be having about missional living.
Rev. Dr. Dan Kreiss
Rev. Dr. Dan Kreiss is the Associate Pastor for Mission Outreach at RPC. Dan is particularly passionate about encouraging the church to reflect the diversity found in its surrounding community in regard to age, gender, ethnicity, education and economic status.