As you might summize...it has been a while (almost 90 days actually) since my last posting. I have been in a part of my faith journey that required my attention to not only be present in each moment...but to also experience the journey over an extended period of time. So over the next weeks, it is my hope to share some of my writings of previous journey adventures as well as my recent ones. The below writing came during my time God had me journeying through seminary...
I own several atlases. Some are small for traveling and others are huge print to better see the small towns and roads that exist in each state. Each atlas has a large number on it to identify the year it is produced…that got me wondering…does that much change that we have to continually update an atlas? Are there new towns popping up all over the country…or are there that many new roads that didn’t existed…and how about all those population recorded in the back…is it really necessary to change an atlas? Apparently updates have their place...an important place.
Case in point, while I was in seminary, I would travel from Michigan to Minneapolis twice a year. I love to drive, so my mode of travel was my vehicle and to say the least…my first experience crossing Wisconsin was interesting. I used a 2004 atlas to plan my route and even consulted with a couple of people who were quite familiar with the travel to the Twin Cities. They all agreed that while Wisconsin 29 was the best east/west route, however they also confirmed the major connection problems around Wausau and Eau Claire which were identified on my trusty atlas. So I plotted a safer route which may have taken me a bit out in the “boonies” on a two lane road…but it would not hinder my travels. During my stay in the Twin Cities, one of my new classmates informed me that Wisconsin 29 had actually been redone and now it was a straight shot through Eau Claire and that the highway department was finishing a beautiful exchange in Wausau and 29 when completed will be a wonderful 4 lane (and sometimes 6 lane) highway across Wisconsin. Had I taken a little time to update, I would have found the updated information about my journey that would have saved me some time in the "boonies".
And just an FYI to you techie geeks…(note-this is before I owned a GPS) GPS’ have need to be updated too. In a future blog…I will share about how my GPS almost landed me in the middle of a lake!
So yes, updating has its place…such as in our faith journey. If we don’t take time to update our spiritual lives…we can get stuck in some old ruts or possibly grow stale. One place we can update is getting into the Bible. It is a miraculous work of God that can update our spiritual and emotional lives as we read, re-read, meditate, study, share and live it. The more we grow…the deeper we able to appreciate and understand his message of hope, his tireless pursuit of a living relationship with his people, the blessings and issues of obedience and a greater appreciation for the grace he offers us…and that is an Updating that helps our faith journey be one worth experiencing!
Your fellow sojourner,
Paul
Updating verse of the week:
Do Not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve of what God's will is..his good, pleasing and perfect will."Romans 12:2
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