Before I Go

What will I take with me? What will I leave behind?

Sometimes I wonder if we are really nomads, meant to roam this earth that we call home by default. In Kenya there are both pastoralists and farmers. In Rwanda, this was one - and possibly the main - distinction between Hutus and Tutsis.

Certainly, I am more comfortable staying in one place. Yet the call of the wild, or simply the boredom of the city, draws me out… only to return again. I’m willing to travel for a few days, sometimes weeks, but it’s always nice to have someplace to return to that

“Home is where the heart is.” This cliché phrase says so much more to Christians, as we carry the peace and love of our Savior Jesus Christ wherever we go. The Spirit, not circumstances, should both be our guide and our strength. Yet too often we are content to remain comfortable and unchanged.

Before I go, I will continue to reflect on these things… Instead of looking at these last two months or so as a list to check off, what if I saw this time as several mini-safaris that I might not ever get to take again? If I block my time into weeks, as we often do for vacation time, will I not seek to get more out of each day? I hope and pray so, staying focused on the goal ahead while fully experiencing today’s now.