There is a joke in which one person says to another, “I can prove to you that I am not here.” After the second person buys into the challenge, the first says, “I’m not in Boston, right? And I’m not in Chicago, right? And I’m not in Atlanta, right? So if I’m not in any of those places, I must be somewhere else. And if I’m somewhere else, I cannot be here.” Okay, you probably saw that coming even if you haven’t heard the joke before. What seems relevant to me is that “somewhere else” often seems to be an attractive place. We are easily tempted to wish ourselves elsewhere in life: a different relationship, a different job, a different community, a different church, and on goes the list. The voice inside says, “If only I could be somewhere else, I wouldn’t have to be here.”
It is very possible, perhaps likely, that “somewhere else” is not where God is moving most of us. That is not to say that God always keeps us right were we are. We go through stages of life and changes along the way. Further, the Bible is full of examples of people who responded to God’s call to go somewhere else (remember Abram?). However, the desire to be elsewhere is usually not because God is calling us there, but because we are convinced that God’s blessing is found there instead of right where we are. It is often the case that God’s voice, God’s blessing, God’s peace and joy are discovered not elsewhere, but right where we are. Consider these words by Barbara Brown Taylor:
“No one longs for what he or she already has, and yet the accumulated insight of those wise about the spiritual life suggests that the reason so many of us cannot see the red X that marks the spot is because we are standing on it. The treasure we seek requires no lengthy expedition, no expensive equipment, no superior aptitude or special company. All we lack is the willingness to imagine that we already have everything we need. The only thing missing is our consent to be where we are.*
My confession is this: there are times during this journey through life when it seems like I am in a less-than-perfect place. In those times I am tempted by the wish to be somewhere else. It is very possible that in those times I am simply unable to see the “red X” that marks the spot of God’s blessing because I am standing on it. Could it be for you as well? If so, may God give us grace to have our eyes opened, that we may see the blessing that God is ready to give right where we are.
See you along the winding path…
*Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith (Canada: HarperOne, 2009), xiv-xv.
The Winding Path 