“Not all who wander are lost…” – J. R. R. Tolkien

            I love that quote.  I live by that quote.  There is such depth – such meaning in each of the words.  Wander…I have done my share of wandering.  I have meandered down country roads, across deserts, and up crowded streets.  I have traipsed across mountains and valleys (not always searching for my lost golf ball, either!).  I have traversed many places that I never would have bothered to go, had it not been for a desire from deep within my soul to experience someplace new.  My math teacher once taught about “Non-Euclidean Geometry,” where the shortest distance between a two points is not necessarily a straight line.  (I got lost in that one for several months, just wandering about!) Wandering has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. 

Lost…There are so many meanings here.  Lost generally means displaced.  Things get misplaced a lot around my house.  “I can’t find my shoes!” is a common cry just before going to school in the mornings.  “Have you seen my keys?” 

Sometimes lost refers to something less tangible, but no less significant:  “I’ve lost 15 pounds so far on my diet!”  And then lost can also refer to people - geographically or spiritually.  It can mean temporarily, but I refuse to believe that it is permanent (“I once was lost, but now am found…”).  Sometimes we wander and get lost in our own thoughts.  Turning corners in our memories can bring us to an awareness of ourselves we had not previously known. 

But I believe Tolkien meant something a little different.  What appears on the outside to others as our wandering aimlessly, may in fact be our meandering with a clear sense of direction inside our souls.  Some folks cannot fathom the journey that others may be on – thus it appears they are wandering.  But the journey that faith explores is one that is ripe with opportunities that not everyone on the outside can fully understand. 

The Season of Lent can be like that for some folks.  Wandering about in the wildernesses of our lives can appear as though we might be lost at times.  And yet, no one knows our wandering better than the One who wandered first – Jesus Christ.  His time in the wilderness of Judea gave him clarity about his call from God.  He gained wisdom as well as direction, patience as well as perseverance.  And his commitment to pursue God’s will with passion was what led him to THE PASSION that has saved all of us from our wanderings and lostness.

This Lenten Season, take some time to wander about in your faith.  Ask yourself if you are on the right path – the one that God has laid out before you.  Ask yourself if you are making any progress in becoming the whole person God intended for you at your birth.  Ask yourself if you are faithfully following the One who has already trod the path through the Valley of the Shadows.  And then make a commitment to strive to draw closer to God’s will for your life.

I guarantee you, even though it may look like you are wandering about, you will not be lost.  The One who created you, who redeemed you, and who sustains you on the journey, will travel with you.

See you in Church!

Grace and peace,

Brad