Out Riding Fences

I’ve got ramblin’ fever in my blood.  The wandering spirit is a friend of mine.  Familiar with the writings of Rudyard Kipling from youth, I’ve been entranced with the voices of far-off lands.  He wrote of his time in the Orient, “When you’ve ’eard the east a-callin’, you won’t ever ’eed naught else.” There’s something about new destination, and places we could go (though we may never get there).  I’ve never stopped thinking about tomorrow, and, all these years, I’ve been sleeping with my boots on.

When I was a younger man, it was my dream to experience different areas of the country (even the world) and different fields of ministry.  I’ve not done as much as some but have had my part. While not traveling abroad, I’ve heard the “sweet sound that calls the young sailor.” In the end, life takes us over apart from consideration and responsibilities preclude restlessness.  But the spirit of adventure remains, though the vehicle for adventure depreciates.  

The thing about someplace else is that you don’t really know what it’s like until you get there.  The younger son in Jesus’ parable went to the far country only to find it was far from what he expected.  We can spend so much time looking at and thinking of another place that we forget what we have. There’s great tragedy in that.  God did not make us to be everything, but He did make us to be something. In His plan, He gave us places to occupy and deeds to dare.

Can we find satisfaction in our circumstances?  Can we be both dreamers and realists? Maybe. Let’s try.  It would be good for us to be thankful and reassess our orientations and opportunities.  If you’ve been enraptured by exotic and distant clime, I know you’ve got your reasons. On the other hand, you have people relying on you and promises to keep.  I hope you find life and love in your circumstances and surroundings. Before it’s too late.

Sterl