There were times in my childhood when the sound of a car's blinker sounded like Heaven.
When our Dad would drive us from Ohio to Oklahoma in the '60s, the trip would begin at 4:30 a.m. We would be transferred from bed to the back seat and he would aim the car down the road as far as humanly possible (& occasionally beyond). This mode of travel focused on gobbling up the miles, not sightseeing, which meant that he left many Rest Stops in his wake. The signs would appear promising an oasis of green, a chance to move, and some cool shade (in those pre-AC days), in addition to the all-important restroom, and then, as the road widened into an exit lane, Dad would drive right by - it often seemed to me that he even accelerated just a bit, to forestall whining or hope from the back seat.
Oh, but when we heard that turn signal begin to click & felt the car slowing . . . (!) - we would scramble to get our shoes back on and the anticipation was wonderful. As a kid I could never figure out why Dad wanted to get away from these rest areas so fast. Now I know that they are not places to set up camp - they are there to help make the journey possible. They are not destinations.
I want to share some stops along the way where I have found refreshment & hope online. I urge you to pay a brief visit & let me know what you think. The first is http://www.shipoffools.com/- which bills itself as "the magazine of Christian unrest." These folks are 'survivors' of what used to be a real-world magazine that folded. It's a community of people who have both questions and faith, and who aren't afraid of either. Then, for those of you who never outgrew Mad magazine, there is http://www.wittenburgdoor.com/- which bills itself as 'pretty much the only Christian satire' magazine (this one still also exists as an actual, paper magazine, too). The writing & ideas at the Door can be uneven - it doesn't always 'work' - but when they really connect it can be beautiful.
For rest & rejuvenation, though, there is http://www.sacredspace.ie/ - a site that invites you to prayer by way of '10 minutes in front of your computer' - & which offers a daily guide through Scripture & meditation. It is literally a chance to pause & take a deep breath, and to remember who you are. Like the best rest areas, it offers beauty, it is possible to visit briefly, it can connect you with fellow travelers, and it can offer enough renewal to be brave enough for the next steps on the journey. A taste of Heaven can do that.
- Steve
BLOG NOTES: There should be a button at the top of your computer screen that says "Add to Favorites" - if you add "Leaving Nadderby" there, you can easily check back for new posts (and you won't have to worry about how to spell 'Nadderby'). I'm still learning how to get word out about this, so let me urge you to Forward liberally. For now I will be working on a list & notifying folks by email. Thanks for your notes & encouragement as this begins.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Looking Back
Do you wish you could see the future? Are you sure?
Before Karen & I had been married for 5 years, she was involved in a very serious auto accident. She was at the end of a day on her job as a reporter. I was three hours away doing my weekly stint at school. A full-size Olds going about 50 m.p.h. hit her car directly on the driver's door. She was, thank God, driving a '65 Chevy Impala, and all of that steel and Providence combined to save her life.
Days before, she had learned that she was pregnant. As I drove up I-75 that night towards her hospital, the initial assurances from an ER nurse wrestled with images of losing both her and our unknown child. Thankfully, she proved as tough as the '65 Chevy she was driving.
The journeys we are on involve going on past surprises, mistakes, and sometimes outright disasters. She made it through that first pregnancy with the aid of a wheelchair, crutches, determination, and faith, but it was not the road we had pictured in those first moments of learning about a new life entering the world.
In the years since, both family & dear friends have gone through events that detour, sometimes cruelly, the route we thought we were going to travel. That's why I think there is a kind of grace at work in our inability to foresee the future. I think most of us would run like thieves if we knew up front all that we would have to handle. As it is, shock, duty, and sometimes plain luck work together to get us through this one day in which we live, and move, and have our being.
THE BLOG'S NAME comes from the beginning of Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. As the book begins, Lewis' protagonist (Ransom) is in a foul mood. He has been denied a night's lodging in the village of Much Nadderby, and now his walking tour has become something like a sprint to reach the next village before nightfall. What he doesn't know is that a far greater journey is beginning - one that will literally take him to other worlds where he will see wonders beyond his imagination and mysteries that will make sense of some of the central Mysteries of his own existence. That's how I see us living many of our days.
Walking on past former goals and dreams, often grumbling (or weeping) over our shoulders at what has been lost, we journey on to learn that there are still wonders in store beyond the unexpected, unwanted, changes which have forced their way into our lives. It is not the road we imagined or planned for that carries us on to our ultimate goal, but the road that we are really and truly on - the one with Nadderby behind, and the true journey of a Lifetime ahead.
- Steve
Before Karen & I had been married for 5 years, she was involved in a very serious auto accident. She was at the end of a day on her job as a reporter. I was three hours away doing my weekly stint at school. A full-size Olds going about 50 m.p.h. hit her car directly on the driver's door. She was, thank God, driving a '65 Chevy Impala, and all of that steel and Providence combined to save her life.
Days before, she had learned that she was pregnant. As I drove up I-75 that night towards her hospital, the initial assurances from an ER nurse wrestled with images of losing both her and our unknown child. Thankfully, she proved as tough as the '65 Chevy she was driving.
The journeys we are on involve going on past surprises, mistakes, and sometimes outright disasters. She made it through that first pregnancy with the aid of a wheelchair, crutches, determination, and faith, but it was not the road we had pictured in those first moments of learning about a new life entering the world.
In the years since, both family & dear friends have gone through events that detour, sometimes cruelly, the route we thought we were going to travel. That's why I think there is a kind of grace at work in our inability to foresee the future. I think most of us would run like thieves if we knew up front all that we would have to handle. As it is, shock, duty, and sometimes plain luck work together to get us through this one day in which we live, and move, and have our being.
THE BLOG'S NAME comes from the beginning of Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis. As the book begins, Lewis' protagonist (Ransom) is in a foul mood. He has been denied a night's lodging in the village of Much Nadderby, and now his walking tour has become something like a sprint to reach the next village before nightfall. What he doesn't know is that a far greater journey is beginning - one that will literally take him to other worlds where he will see wonders beyond his imagination and mysteries that will make sense of some of the central Mysteries of his own existence. That's how I see us living many of our days.
Walking on past former goals and dreams, often grumbling (or weeping) over our shoulders at what has been lost, we journey on to learn that there are still wonders in store beyond the unexpected, unwanted, changes which have forced their way into our lives. It is not the road we imagined or planned for that carries us on to our ultimate goal, but the road that we are really and truly on - the one with Nadderby behind, and the true journey of a Lifetime ahead.
- Steve
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