Through many seasons of wondering, seeking, living, and moving along in my journey, I have found that it is very easy for a person to lose their way. We all get distracted. We all take our eyes off the ball. Sometimes it ends in heartache. Other times it can be much worse and end in disaster.
The crazy thing is, we can move along in one or more areas of life and not miss a beat. All the while there is a part of us that is completely and utterly lost. Maybe it’s our marriage. Maybe it’s work. Maybe it’s something more simple. Whatever it ends up being, we all get to that place. We don’t know what to do, where we are, or where to turn.
The past couple of years ended with me finding I’d lost my way in matters of “church”. To be specific, I am talking about the who, where, and how’s of worshipping with other Christians. It was no one else’s fault. Those I chose to journey with were trying to make their way, same as me. It just so happens nothing seemed to work out. When it didn’t, bam! I was lost.
Evette and I really didn’t know what to do or where to go for a few months. Traditional church hadn’t worked out. House church hadn’t worked. We’d been through disappointment after disappointment over our entire marriage. Here we were again. And like each time before, it seemed harder than the last. Or was it?
What DOES one do when they go through these times only to find they’ve lost their way?I’m no guru and certainly do not have all the answer, but for me it turned out to be fairly simple. (at least the first step)
You remember what is important, and move on it. Getting lost and standing still won’t make even one thing better. You make the main thing the main thing again and take some action.
Now, you may have to eat some crow (doesn’t taste as bad as you think), and you may need to admit you were wrong. It’s never easy to do this and pride can certainly get in the way. But we’ve done both of these things in the our search to find some folks to journey with as we do our best to follow Jesus. We didn’t want to and we fought it a little. In the end, we just wanted to find our way again.
The cool thing is that what has come out of this has been surprisingly liberating. There is something to be said for stopping and saying, “I don’t know where the hell I am or what I am doing anymore.” Because once you do this, not only can you find your way again, you might find that something you wouldn’t have considered before is exactly what you needed.
We all lose our way. Anyone who says they don’t is either arrogant or flat out stupid. And it’s not the end of the world to end up lost. When you take that attitude you find that being lost is not the real problem. Staying lost is.
Great blog Rich...I understand your point and all I really have to say (Personally) is: “I don’t know where the hell I am or what I am doing anymore.”
I too have a journey infront of me. It's actually been there for well over a year now, and I was ignoring it and making excuses. Not anymore. I deserved better and I WILL get better. I don't know how or when, but I know that God does know.
Thanks for this blog Rich, it really did help me in ways that I just can't explain.
Posted by: Amy Gudger | November 21, 2009 at 11:37 PM