I’m very comfortable and adept with the outward journey. I’ve been trained in it since I was a little kid. I enjoy it.
I love the journey through new seasons of life. Many of my seasons come and go in the context of family—getting married, having children, celebrating births, grieving deaths, children entering kindergarten, kids leaving for college. I’ve also appreciated the gift of relationships surrounding our family—friendships, neighbors, other parents, coworkers. I’ve embraced the challenges of international moves and learning new cultures in our adventurous journey, as well as beginning new jobs and letting go of old jobs.
Our journeys are full of twists and turns dictated by new situations and external circumstances along the way. Friends around me are aware of my external journey. They know when I move, when I lost my Mom, when we moved a son to college, and maybe even what is blooming in my backyard. But what about the internal journey?
I want to be aware and intentional about what is happening on the inside while all the flurry keeps me occupied on the outside. I want to take time to be still enough that I can know what God is teaching me through each changing season. And I want to share it. It’s easy to post a picture on facebook of our family climbing a mountain. It’s harder to share about the uphill spiritual journey.
There is more to learn from each other than when to start feeding a newborn solids, what select team should my athlete play on and if I should quit my job or not (all important questions—I’m just hoping to invite you to another level of my journey). What is He teaching me on the inside? What is he teaching you o
n the inside?
Who am I becoming in my heart? Do I truly believe in his forgiveness? What do I do with the root of bitterness gripping my attitude? How do I bring my anxieties to the Prince of Peace? Do I trust God to get me through the tough season that seems to have no end? How can I love like he loves?
The inward journey takes effort, but it is the journey that matters. It’s more than going to church on Sunday. It’s tending to the soul–which can be messy business. It’s learning to be still long enough to listen to how God is transforming me on the inside.
Sometimes it is painful. Sometimes it is joyous.
Always it is worth it.
