Courage to Move

One of the hardest things about faith is that there is not always a blueprint for what we are called to do. Sometimes, even when we think we know the way, something happens and the path is changed.

As human beings we like to know the answers. We like to know

what is coming next,
how far we will have to travel to reach our destination, and
what will be waiting for us when we get there.

But the faith journey is nothing like that.

We only need to read the stories recorded about our ancestors to see.

When Abraham and Sarah felt the call of the Divine all they knew was that they must leave their home and venture out.

When Moses felt the energy of the universe pushing him to return to Egypt to journey with his people he certainly was not prepared for where that journey would take him.

Mary and Joseph felt that their child was destined for something but they did not know what, and so the story goes for others like Isaiah, and Samuel, Peter and Paul etc.

But not knowing isn’t always the worse thing. I imagine that if we knew exactly what tomorrow would bring there are times we would be paralyzed and remain rooted and yet we long for that knowledge so that we can prepare, or be in control somehow of what happens.

The Courage to Move

In the last few weeks I have talked about the call to discipleship; the need for each of us to make the choice to follow or not; the reality that sometimes we need a nudge even when we have made the decision; and this week I will talk about the reality that following in Jesus’ footsteps requires risk and sacrifice. In the midst of all of this there are no guarantees about where we will end up once we head out on the road but we are called to step out in faith and open ourselves to the possibilities that lie before us.  It will not be easy.

We will question and doubt

We will look back and wonder why we ever ventured out.

There will also be those moments of amazing grace, when everything comes together, the stars align and we will know that this would never have happened had we not followed.

So my prayer is that we will have the courage to move, not knowing where we will end up; that we will have open hearts and minds to the spirit’s movement; and that as we grow we will indeed become all that we were created to be.

Blessings
Valerie