Finding Our Way

A friend asked me the other day what I thought was the most important thing that every person needed for their journey of faith. I attempted to answer his question in the moment, but it has lingered with me over these days as I have thought about my own faith journey and the integral pieces which have brought me further into life with God. When I consider what has made much of the difference for my own faith, a patchwork of faces and moments shared with incredible mentors always comes to mind. I remember times of great anxiety or uncertainty when an encounter with one of these friends helped me to re-cast my anchor into the sea of doubt that surrounded me and threatened to capsize my boat. Often answers to the great questions were not the object of our discussions. Instead, across the table, in the presence of a trusted companion, I had the chance to reorient and find my bearings. In these conversations, I was reminded that Jesus choose the tumult of a great storm to walk through crashing waves and extend a hand to his friends whose faith had been shaken, saying, “I am here. Do not be afraid.”

I have always appreciated the metaphor of faith as making a journey. Our lives with God require us to travel a path with very few signposts or visible markers which point us in the right direction. Instead what we have are stars which shed just enough light to help us through some rather dark times. These light bearers come in many forms. Often mentors and friends have taken time to share their light, holding lanterns along my path so that I may better find my way. Those who have walked this bit of the road before and taken time to mark this place are a reminder that no matter how lost I may feel, someone else has felt this lost, too. One particular practice of pilgrimage is for the traveler to leave stones in different places along the way as a reminder to those who follow that this ground has been already tread. In our wildernesses, where darkness, doubt, and low-visibility reign, even mounds of stones are a welcome symbol that we are never far from God or one another, even when all evidence points to the contrary.

For the next few weeks, our Thursday night small group is going to be reading a book which offers light and aid for our spiritual journeys. In his book, Finding out Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices, Brian McLaren discusses Christian faith as a way of life. He urges those of us who call ourselves Christian, followers of Jesus, to understand faith not as a system of beliefs but instead as a refining process which requires our whole life and being. Each week, we will be reading, discussing, and praying about our own journeys of faith, and we will seek to discover the mounds of stones which have been left for us to learn from by those who have walked the road before us. In this process, we may even leave a few stones of our own to share with the pilgrims who are sure to follow.

I am thankful for every lantern and stone which has appeared on the scene just when I needed them. As I have grown older, I have also realized that the time has come for me to put extra oil in my own lantern and look around to notice where other travelers may need the light of a star to guide their way. Learning and sharing, this dance shifts back and forth until the destination has been reached. In memories and words, in stories and traditions left for us like mounds of stones along the path, we find our way home.