Lost and Humble
On Friday, I took the bus into downtown Torrevieja. It seems simple: just pay the driver, take a seat and hop off at your stop. But within the bus-riding process, there are a series of lessons to learn, do-and-don’ts, cultural tricks and cues that one must learn to maneuver smoothly through the bus-riding experience. Which bus do I take? What happens if I take the wrong bus? How do I manage to find my back home?
Each time we go through a new experience, these questions arise. But then we remember the parables of the Jesus and the way he described the God who will find us:
God as the woman who lost one of her ten coins and goes on a hunt to find it and when she does, she invited the whole community to rejoice. (Luke 15:8-10)
God as the father who welcomes his ungrateful son home, even after the son’s lies and bad behavior. (Luke 15: 11-32)
God as the shepherd who loses one of a hundred sheep and leaves the ninety-nine just to find the one. (Matthew 18:10-14)
What happens if we get lost? God will find us. Moreover, God will be with us as we navigate the paths we choose, even if they are the “wrong” ones. God will be there to nudge us away from danger, to support us when the choices we make bring more pain than joy, to love us even when we are not the people we’d like to be.
AND…. God is with us to see the beauty, even when we take “wrong” roads - to help us notice the unexpected joys in taking the long way home. There are always lessons to learn, butterflies to follow, flowers that bloom … even along the wrong roads.
As I was making my way home, walking through my new neighborhood toward the warm greeting of my awaiting dog, a song popped into my head:
Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord
Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord
And He shall lift you up (higher and higher)
And He shall lift you up
This praise song was written in 1978 and it echoes the message of James 4:10. My bus-riding experience on Friday was humbling. For one who likes to be in control of my life and my choices, it is humbling to enter into new situations in which I don’t know the rules. Much of this entry will feel humbling, but I feel the presence of God guiding me.
As we journey through the Lenten season and as we approach the miracles of Easter, may we feel the God of lost sheep and lost sons nudge us back to the “right" roads; As we wander, may God show us the beauty and the lessons along the way; As we navigate new experiences, may we acknowledge our humbleness in the presence of God. And may God continue to bless us in this place at this time.