Finding My Wilderness

Could you imagine what your days would be like if you knew your life's purpose?

Today we remember John, Jesus's cousin, the one they called the baptizer.  From before his birth, we are told, his purpose in life was known.  He was to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. - Malachi 3:1

Some would say John was blessed.  To know God's purpose for him and to be able to fulfill it without seeking for it could be viewed as a gift.

But others might consider it a curse, a waste, an unfair predetermined and prescribed destiny.

It is a bit ironic, isn't it, that we struggle from time t o time in our lives  to try to understand our reason for being.  Why am I here?  What is my purpose?  What will give my life meaning?

John didn't have to figure that out.  It was given to him.

So, why does it feel like he was cheated out of a life that could have been?

I believe we are poor receptors of God's life messages, those hints and clues that guide us on various paths in our journey.  We want to know, but we want to make our own choices, do our own thing, be our own person.

God understands that.  He gave us the will to choose, and with it, he gives us an infinite array of options.  But I think He does something else as well.

He sprinkles our path, whichever path we choose, with opportunities to discover the hidden potential he has given each of us.

We may wake up one morning with a yearning to do something for someone, or to make a statement about a worthwhile cause that moves us.  We become empowered and fired up, as if God's own hand was guiding us.

John shed his father's wealth and position to subject himself to an uncomfortable life in the wilderness, a wilderness that can be defined in many ways.  What is my wilderness?

Each of us has an uncomfortable place that is calling us, a special purpose or cause that has our name on it.  Unlike John, we are not born with an awareness of that call, nor do we feel compelled to find it, not at first.

But as the years add up, something in us stirs.  Something ignites and we begin our quiet search.  We dare not tell anyone.  It is our secret.

If we are lucky, or driven, or we let ourselves be guided, we find it.  Not all at once, like an oasis in the desert, but in a series of brief glimpses.  And if we continue down that path, the picture emerges.

This is where I am on my journey, somewhere between fragmentary glimpses and the full picture.

I am finding my wilderness and it is not a wilderness at all, but a land of plenty.  It is filled with wonder and opportunities.  I don't know where to start, so I start where I am.

So, if you find yourself looking for something but you aren't sure what it is, my advice is to have faith, open your eyes, clear your mind of all the clutter and begin down a path.  The picture will emerge from the fog.

It is how He works.

More to come...