A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life

A Weblog Dedicated to the Discussion of the Christian Faith and 21st Century Life
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I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, –that unless I believed, I should not understand.-- St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

There Is Something to Be Said for Not Staying Put


I have moved around often in my fifty years of life. From the time I went to kindergarten until I was finished with high school, my family moved eleven times. I never spent longer than two years in one school. There were some disadvantages to this way of life to be sure. I always had to leave places I had gotten somewhat used to and adjust to new surroundings. I also never had any time growing up to develop any close friendships because it seemed as soon as I would make friends I would leave them. I had no one I considered a close friend until my college years.

There were, however, advantages. I learned early on in my young life to adjust to new things. Since so many things in my life were new, I never had an opportunity to become familiar with the old. I have discovered in my adult life that I am very adaptable to the new and the different. I am sure my childhood wanderings had much to do with that. Little did I know, as I was always moving from one town to the next, that I would become an itinerant preacher. If I had wished to settle down in one place as an adult it was not to be. Following the orders of my bishop I have traveled from one town to the next making new friends and then leaving them as old friends and off again to make new ones. In one respect this has been difficult to be sure. It can be hard to leave people you have come to love. But in another way it has become a real blessing; for we have gotten to know so many more people than we ever would have in one place. We have friends in many different places who represent a wonderful diverse cross-section of humanity. And while distance doesn't allow us to see them regularly, we do maintain communication with more than a few of them.

This past weekend Carol and I had the opportunity to be part of two different events where we saw some old friends and other individuals we haven't seen in years. We had such a wonderful time renewing acquaintances and catching up on the news that we were saddened when the time was over. But that time reminded us of how blessed we are to have known and still know so many wonderful people who have made our journey in life the blessing that it is. We cannot imagine what our lives would have been or would be now without their presence throughout the years.

In one sense I guess it could be said that I have no place to call home. In another sense I have many homes. And every time we return to one of those "homes" it truly does feel like home to us. I am not fond of sappy cliches, but if it is true that home is where your heart is, my heart is in many places. And that has made my life rich indeed.

There is something to be said for not staying put.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful and so very true. God knows what HE is doing with our lives.

Dr. Tony said...

Because my father was in the Air Force, I moved practically every year I was in school. I ended up attending five elementary schools, two junior high, and three high schools.

Granted, if I had been given the choice, I might not have made the moves. It is not easy making friends when you move every year.

But I saw parts of the country and the world that many people could only imagine. And I saw the changes in this country during the 60s. When you see how one person can be treated differently because of the part of the country they are in, you see the world very much differently.

What I fear is happening is that most people spend all their time in one part of the country the world and have no idea what happens in other parts. Their view of the world is sadly limited and this cannot make things better.