Taking Off and Landing

Myles Werntz a friend of mine from college, and a fantastic writer, had a very thought provoking blog today. Read his thoughts and you'll know what I mean, but one line is a good jumping off point

"This is the curse of our generation: we are forever Cain, wandering from town to town, never settled down, leaving our name and feelings in little places all over the map."

I've been thinking a lot about this subject lately. Having not lived in the same residence for longer the 16 months since I left high school (I'm almost 28), and having lived in 4 vastly different areas in that same time. Looking for a job, again! (making this my 3rd job since leaving college) I find myself on the other end of the conversation.

I long for a community where my departure is not predetermined. I long for a place to throw down roots. But I know that, that place will not be here. I must once again pull up roots and start all over. While the location could be as close as 15 miles or as far as 2,500, the result is the same, another new beginning.

This time it's different though, for there is a hope. A hope that this could bring the peace that I seek, the peace that comes with longevity. They say one key to effective ministry is being in one place for a long time. I want to say that my ministry was effective, the lives were changed, and that I my time on each counted. And I want to say that my ministry was hard to distinguish from my day to day living, and at the end of it all God was pleased with the life that I lived.

But does that require that i remain in one place? I have no idea. The thought of living in one place for 30 years, is both comforting and suffocating at the same time.

IN the end though I have to rest on the fact that I do believe that God will see me through to the end, and that if I seek after him he'll place me where he needs me. A trite saying, but true none the less.