How do you feel about speed bumps? You know... the bumps placed in pathways to help (force) us to slow down. They can be annoying, especially when the coast is clear and we actually could accelerate. Another traffic control device is a rumble strip --grooves placed on margins of highways to alert the drivers of careless (dangerous) steering. Or the strips may cut across a lane to let dreamers and dashers know that they need to slow down. I have actually benefitted from both types of rumble strips when I have been slightly distracted from my driving.
I think of the blessing and curse of these highway regulators now as I encounter a significant rumble strip on this sabbatical journey. I was scheduled to leave this weekend for the first of several extended stays at a hermitage. This particular hermitage is in a remote region about 500 miles from my home. The cabin has heat, electricity and a fireplace -- but no running water. I have prepared my survival gear, packed my resources and tools for writing, and chosen the food that I will take. I'm ready to go and I am energized and, yes, excited about the expedition.
However.... The person who owns the cabin and was to travel with me and get me "established" so I could be there for a week or two is now unable to go -- at least for now. That means that all of my planning and my fairly specific and significant expectations need to be on hold...at least for a while. Disappointed? Absolutely!
I move to a better attitude when I recall the fundamental purpose of this time of seclusion. It is to be removed from the distractions (even the pleasant ones) of life in my familiar surroundings. I have consented to God's disclosure of things that blurr my vision and dull my awareness of what God offers and where God is guiding. I intend to write about ministry maintenance...sustaining the life of whatever one is called to do...and to be. Perhaps this shift of place and space is a part of that process. Perhaps it is actually a critical aspect of "my" preparation.
Sometimes my expectations and the fulfillment of plans that I make may distort my receptivity to God's presentation. There is actually something theologically sound in that statement. In the pain of disappointment or unmet expectations I may discover wide open doors for the flow (perhaps even the RUSH) of God's grace.
I'm still leaving my familiar surroundings.... I still will be in seclusion... I have had to slow down on the course I had anticipated and literally turn in a different direction -- like a hair pin turn. I trust that there are many blessings in these events which have "regulated" my pace and my path.
We shall see where this is leading!
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