Being There

Life is a journey
If this journey were orchestrated by us, we'd build a highway
A straight line to take us from the beginning to finish
Efficient, speedy and obvious.
Thank you very much.

But life is not orchestrated by us -
And the journey has little resemblance to a super-highway
It winds and bends; is full of mystery, beauty and unexpected happenings.

Sometimes I take a walk with a small child
We balance on pavement stones; we hop over the cracks in the pavement; we take interesting detours
We walk at the child's pace, stopping to examine every little thing that catches the eye.
Stones, flowers, beetles, snails, leaves - everything calls for intent attention and discussion.
We turn them over in our hands, feeling texture, rivetted by colour and design.
Wonderful questions come up:
"Where does the wind come from?"
"How do all those flowers have the same pattern?"
"Why does rain fall downwards?"
"How do the snails tenticles disappear when you touch them?"
"What does God look like?"
"What makes waves keep on coming?"

Sometimes I can offer an explanation, sometimes not
But I've discovered that the answers are not the important part -
The questions are.
The curious, attentive mind of the child is important
And that pondering together on the unanswerables is important.
It draws us together as nothing else does really.

I think that our journey through life with the One who orchestrates it (if we let Him) is a little like those walks.
He gives us the joy of pottering
Of stopping to really look
Of questioning, and wondering
Of marvelling at mystery
In companionship.

Not for Him the straight austere clinical fasttrack
He wants us to meander meaningfully
Knowing that we'll surely come to the destined end
Knowing Him so much better from our shared pottering and ponderings
From the shared adventure of it.