(This is the boat, my friend Pat is building in his driveway...it is so awesome!)
I have reconnected recently with an old friend who, it turns out, is building a wooden boat. He plans on cruising to Alaska once he is done. Then, he plans on taking the, "Epoxy Empress" down the Mississippi. In the meantime, he is a pastor focused on shepherding a flock. I know him well. I know that he is a great pastor, one that takes the time to listen to his flock. He is also very good at listening to his Shepherd. His roots go deep.
As I was visiting with him about his boat, the One who dreamed the vast universe into existence began to reacquaint me with my childhood dreams.
I began to remember how I poured through the encyclopedias and National Geographics when I was growing up. I recall reading of tropical islands and dreaming of lonely mountains. I saw pictures of lakes as big as oceans and deserts as big as countries and trees bigger than any other living thing in all of creation.
I also dreamed of having my own sheep ranch and writing a novel and learning to sail...my dreams come like a heaving sea.
But somewhere along the way, I lost sight of those dreams. I started to listen to the background noises...the worldly voices telling me, "It just isn't practical to join the Peace Corps." Or, "The Merchant Marines? What about settling down and raising a family?" "Be responsible." "Be successful." "Get an education."
So that is what I did. I settled down, got an education, and started to raise a family. I have chickens and small fruit trees and a mortgage and three wonderful boys that demand most of my attention....and I am so thankful for them. But I am also married to the one who gave me, "Dove" to read on our first date; the one who toured the Baltic states in college and flew to her native Ireland right after graduation. She is a constant reminder of which way our roots point.
Since becoming married, we spent a summer in Alaska and two weeks in South Africa. We've seen those great big trees and a couple of lakes as big as the ocean. Sometimes I don't, but she always hears the voice saying:
"This is the way. Walk in it." (Isaiah 30:21)
As you continue your discipline of Sabbath, don't be surprised when you start hearing voices. Just when you thought your dreams were lost safely under a layer of dust, they are brought to light again. Your world becomes less safe, but more vibrant. Your days become a storm-tossed sea but at night you see clearly as the beacon guides you back to the dreams you had when you were younger; when the world was your canvas and you really believed that all things were possible.
Where is He leading you?
Perhaps your dream isn't cruising to Alaska or down the mighty Mississippi on a boat you made with your own hands. Instead, maybe it's medical school, or writing a book, or living in a tree, or raising sheep, or painting. Why not? To be rooted in Christ is to be yoked, not with the earth, but with an itinerant carpenter who likes to wear His hear long, drink good wine, and get out on the open road. Don't be surprised if you hear that still small voice telling you to leave Ur and everything you know for that undiscovered country.
Our Shepherd knows the way.
Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.
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