Getting There From Here

Roadside Assistance?

There is a great expression attributed to the folks up in Maine, "You can't get there from here."

When the directions are so complicated or they are too difficult to explain, the default is the northern equivalent of Brooklyn's "Fuggetaboutit!"

Have you ever encountered a situation where you knew getting involved was going to be much more work on your part than you wanted to invest?

What did you do?

It comes down to commitment, doesn't it?  How invested are you, and how much more invested will you become?

It is the stuff of which great stories are made.  The hero is driving down the road, on his way to an important business meeting, when the car in front of him loses control and swerves off the road.  He could stay the course and continue to his appointment, but he doesn't.  He pulls over to the side and gets out, only to find a woman frantically trying to get her bleeding son to the hospital.  We, the audience, feel the tension pulling him away from his commitment, and that tension begins to build as each moment passes.

The stories of the prophets in The Bible are like that.

We are given glimpses into the lives of ordinary people who found themselves in extraordinary situations, guided by a dream, a vision, a voice, a call.  They didn't always want to hear it, or follow the directions they were given.  Jonah ran away.  Moses tried to explain why he was a bad choice.

What I like about these examples is they are real, human and they could be me.  I could see myself arguing that I am not the right person to send on the mission behind enemy lines, and I could convince myself that those reasons are valid.  In fact, if I could retell my life through different eyes, perhaps I would see examples of those times when I did just that, passed when it was my turn to act, to speak, to be or to do.

Eventually, in the stories we read in Scripture, God's purpose wins out.  The hero pulls over and helps the woman get her son to the hospital.

So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. - Jeremiah 18:3-4

Jeremiah was guided to the potter to see how God continues to work on us, remolding and recreating us, until together, we become better, purposed, if not repurposed.

I don't know how "hands-on" God is in our lives, and I couldn't prove it if I did.  I used to get caught up in that, the battle of wills between parent and child, God and his children.  It makes sense to me, though, that God works within us, to help us when we need it, to guide us when we are lost, to be there when we feel alone.  That is something I have felt and continue to feel.  It comes with accepting the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Inviting God's Spirit to live within me, I have that permanent connection with the source, the resource, the battery pack.  But there is more to it, I think.

Jesus tried to explain to his followers that we are all connected through the spirit.  Paul told us we are members of the body.  How does that work?  Is the connection something we can learn to tap into?  I believe we do, every time we pray.  And this channel of life that flows through us talks to us in ways we cannot understand.  Some people hear and respond, like the hero driving down the road.  In an instant, the cry for help from the woman losing control of her car made its way to the heart, mind and soul of the man, and he became redirected.

WE may think that like Jonah, we need to be swallowed by a whale to get the message that God is trying to reach us, to help mold us and shape our lives into something new.  But it may be much more subtle than that.  It may be a faint whisper that we finally hear in the moment of unexpected peace, or it could be something much more powerful that lifts us when we fall, or appears in the night.

I'm glad God is there.  And I know He is there for all, whether we believe in Him or not.