The Messy Life God Bids Us Live

Could this be God's path? Nah, too easy.
Congaree National Park. somethingsarecool.com

The flood continued for forty days on the earth; and the waters increased… The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth… The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; the waters swelled above the mountains… Genesis 7:17-20

I love stories of redemption. One of my favorites is The Lord of the Rings. In a movie, there’s one scene where the companions are trudging through a marsh in the rain, swatting at insects. One of them cries, “What do they eat when they can’t get hobbit?” I don’t remember if this line is in the book, but I smile each time I watch the segment.

It’s easy in this life to feel lost sometimes, like you’re wandering in circles or mired in a swamp. In relationships, when navigating healthcare or end-of-life choices, in church or at work. Pretty much anytime. In some instances, these feelings are short-lived; in others, they can go on and on.

This isn’t a difficulty only in our time. Such stories populate ancient texts, scripture and otherwise, as well as writings since then. Maybe we don’t always notice. We see the person who knows what s/he wants and goes toward it, never veering from that path. And maybe some people are that way. But I believe even for them, there are times when, in order to get ahead, they have to take a detour.

Last November, my daughter Kay and I went for a walk in a park near Philadelphia with my sister and her family. When we got to the end of the trail, the three parents opted to return to our starting point by different ways, with youth and children joining the one whose path suited them.

Kay, Egg* and I returned the way we had come ‘round the bend, until we met the path Kay remembered having seen. We turned onto and soon came upon a stone foundation – all that remained from a house. After exploring a few minutes, we continued up a steep hill, following what now seemed to be a deer trail, until it too disappeared in a tangle of fallen trees and branches.

Our goal was down the other side of this hill so we wove our way through the maze, then when brambles continued to block our way north, we headed west, then north, then east. We had a good adventure, saw something surprising, got a little exercise, and we still weren’t the last ones back.

Life is messy. Sometimes, it seems the hills will never end. Or the rain. But just as God put that rainbow in the sky as a promise for all creation, God promises to be with us – no matter what! Trusting in that promise, we can face the storms. We can risk trying BIGger things. We can believe that we’ll endure, and even thrive, when life goes off course.

Ron Buford writes, “Pushy pastors, leaders, teachers, members AND resisting pastors, leaders, and members struggling with this messy 'God thing' move both the church and the world forward, wrestling with often ambiguous hunches toward faint whiffs of a hidden God of unseen, hope-filled silences.”

Pretty profound. And, affirming – for when we’re the ones in that quagmire or when we want to show solidarity or compassion for someone else who’s there. God may be hidden but God is still – and always – most certainly with us.

* Egg = What E’s mother uses on her own blog to refer to her daughter (my niece).