Life is a Journey

02-07-2021Weekly Reflection© LPi

If I only knew then what I know now, how different life would be. This sentiment, expressed in myriad ways, is found on every human being’s lips at one point or another. Life may have brought us to a vulnerable place where we see some of the poor choices we made and the effects they are having. Perhaps we fell into some destructive and dysfunctional relationships or behaviors and are finding how they held us captive. Our zeal and passion for life may have drifted away and we are waking up to the reasons apathy has taken hold. Life can be hard. In fact, some would describe their lives as a drudgery. They walk through each day with an anxious unsettledness, wondering when their restlessness will cease. There is a temptation to believe that what I see is all I will get. Mortality and hopelessness await the dawn. If I could only have known what would come in the future, I could have made better choices and avoided all of this misery!

Really? While we can certainly give into weakness, sin, impulsiveness, and idiosyncrasies that cause us to stumble over ourselves, life is really a journey. If we don’t make the mistake of wallowing in the mire of self-pity and realize the new life God is calling us to, then there are thrills, adventures, surprises, and soul-searching graces we can surely miss. We are not tethered to our past nor are we bound to the ills life can bring upon us. We are never hopeless or helpless. The problem is that our myopic vision only allows us to see the misery and misfortune that is before us, not the potential that can come from choosing healthier and more life-giving options. Jesus came that we might have fullness of life. We need to learn how to reach for Jesus’ hand and let him help us to our feet.

We need to allow God into our pain and heal our past. We have to wrestle with our histories, agonize and search and cry out for the Divine healing we need to restore our faith, hope, and love. Job could not see how his story would end or trust the guidance of the God who called him. We live in that same blindness and suffer from the same lack of confidence. Once we allow ourselves to be touched by God’s healing power, we begin to see that all of the pieces of our lives are necessary parts of a greater whole. Along the way of our lives, God uses our omissions and failures to create new things and possibilities. When doors close, others open and we can be amazed by the joyful and unexpected surprises we receive. Once we know the power of God’s creative, healing, life-giving, forgiving, and dynamic presence, it is no wonder we want to put ourselves at the service of others and show them what life can be.

BACK TO LIST