Blogging Ottinger (tim)The Strange Journey of the Soul
A funny thing about following God: you aren’t necessarily called to success. The prophets of the Bible often would proclaim truth only to receive abuse, time and time again. Often the kings who were warned did not repent, did not turn, and were not saved. The prophet’s duty was something different. Perhaps it was worded best by Mother Theresa: “God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful.”). Maybe it’s best that we know to simply do what is right, and let the chips fall where they may. After all, some people take opposition as proof that they are right. So maybe rather than control and manage them, we’re better off to choose to give them either interest or disinterest. We cannot choose what will happen in the world. We can only choose where to be involved.
Sometimes a life of surrender takes you places where you would never have gone, some of which are beautiful and some of which are kinda awful. I have had an amazing inability in my past to predict which places would be wonderful and which would be difficult.
So the journey is not intellectual, where one chooses what works best and moves forward with planned and measured steps. This is how one conducts business, and how one would plan a long-term trip, learning from experience and covering the same ground more carefully the next time. Instead, we are given fresh challenges at all times, and each challenge changes us. The experiment is not repeatable because the subject is different every time. The “safe” paths , in retrospect are no longer the paths which seem safe. The decision-making mechanism is new.
The journey is not emotional, where one chooses to go to the places that provide the greatest comfort and self-satisfaction. Instead, we often are pulled into situations which are uncomfortable and often these are the ones where we learn the most. We seldom revisit comfortable places.
So the journey of the soul is unique. We never cover the same ground twice, or at least not as the same people. The journey is one of waiting to see where we end up, rather than planning our course according to our goals. We are led, rather than being self-directing. It is experiential, faith-based, and new every morning.
You are so wise and insightful. This post causes me to stop and meditate on what has been going on.
Comment by Libby — 2005-October-24 @ 07:44