A Thought For The Week Of August 26

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you." (Genesis 12:1) Horseheads, New York. I always wonder how towns get their names. I checked this one out. Apparently, Horseheads gets its name from the number of bleached horses' skulls found there. Why there are a lot of bleached horses' skulls there I have no idea, but that explains it! I'm in the midst of a 2 day drive. Currently in Scranton, Pennsylvania en route to Ocean City, Maryland for a few days of R&R at the beach. When you drive (especially off the main highways) you discover interesting paces like Horseheads, New York that raise questions in your head. I found myself wondering what it must have been like for Abram. He, of course, was nicely settled in his home - when God suddenly told him to leave. I'm discovering interesting things and places while on vacation, knowing that in a few days I'll be back in the comfort of my own home. This wasn't a vacation for Abram, and he had no idea where he was going, except that he knew he wasn't returning. He had adventures and excitement and more than a few questions ahead of him as he journeyed, and (even though Genesis doesn't say it) he must have had at least a few doubts as he set off into the unknown. I find the unknown fun - as long as I can depend on my trusty GPS to get me to the place I want to end up in. Abram had none of that. He had only trust in God to guide him and to bring him safely to ... well .. wherever it was God was sending him. That remains a pretty good analogy for faith in general. The journey God places us on isn't usually that dramatic, but it does result in a lot of discoveries and it can raise more than a few doubts and sometimes we just plain wonder what God is doing with our lives. But, eventually, we learn to trust - to let God guide us to wherever it is that God wants us to be, doing whatever it is that God wants us to do. That mystery is a part of what makes a life of faith so exciting, isn't it. And we make the journey only by faith and trust. So, in the words of a wonderful hymn written in 1989 by Sylvia Dunstan, "Bless now, O God, the journey that all your people make ..." Have a great week!