Pining for Home
“This way!” I proclaimed. “No, it was this way!” my sister rebutted. We frantically searched for the trail while we were surrounded by jack pines that seemed to multiply by the second. My sister reinforced that, “We should have never gone off the path. Dad told us we could go for a hike ONLY if we stayed on the path.” She had good reason to point fault at me. It was my idea to rebel against my father's one condition. This was on trend with my nature when I was eleven. To this day, another thing I've struggled with is navigation. All I know is, “Never Eat Soggy Waffles.”
Every move we made was actually the wrong one. Everything started looking exactly the same. Pine tree after nearly identical pine tree. A half hour of walking in the completely wrong direction led us to a neighboring dirt road. From there, we had a choice of just two directions. Thankfully, the fear didn't interfere with my judgment this time. The correct turn was finally made.
We started recognizing landmarks near home, and the sound of my father's voice billowed through the woods. A new fear set in: the fear of my father. I had disobeyed a direct order. To my surprise, relief washed over his face, not anger. I was punished only by my own shame. I not only caused a scare in my dad, but I brought my younger sister into a dangerous situation. After having children, I can look back and realize that his relief was stronger than his disappointment. He wanted more than anything for his daughters to come home to him.
When we stray from God, He wants us to come home to Him. He does not stew in disappointment, but is gracious beyond comprehension. If we find ourselves off track from Him, He does not shame us. He welcomes us “and when he finds (the lost sheep), he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home” (Luke 15:5 NIV). When a sinner repents, he is forgiven, and heaven rejoices. When we accept this, we know that no matter how great the distance we are from the Lord, we do not have to stay there because we feel shame. You are never too far gone for our Father.
Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6 NIV). One condition to keep you from getting lost is to recognize Jesus as “the way.” Once we step off of the path that God has laid out for us, we find ourselves surrounded by the destruction He never intended for us. The longer you are off of the path, the more obstacles eventually completely impede your view of it. When I went deeper into the woods, the thicker the trees became, and the hope of finding my way home was shrinking. I remember watching a popular survival show as a teen, and some advice was to stay put if you are lost. There was a catch, though: you should only stay put if someone knows that you were traveling. God always knows where you are, even if you don't know where He is. He knows when and where you will travel from the path and ultimately become lost. I have learned that we shouldn't move any further when we have misplaced our path to Him. As we wait upon Him, He will find us. He, too, just wants us to come home to Him. Thankfully, we have a forgiving heavenly Father. He doesn't want us to live in the destruction that comes from going our own way, despite His instruction not to. We are given the choice to follow or to wander. I think He wants us to realize that we need Him. Without Him, we actually become trapped in a wilderness that we thought meant freedom.
I wish that I had listened to my dad's one clear instruction. Staying on the path would have ensured our safety and a clear way home. I think, “What if I had stayed put once I realized I was lost, instead of going further into the woods?” There would have been fewer obstacles in the way of my dad and me. I would have never caused him that pain. When I step off the path from Jesus, I am reminded of what being lost feels like. It feels like hopelessness, anxiousness, and shame. I don't desire to wander anymore. If I move, I only want it to be in the confines of my Father's given route. One wrong turn does not mean we have to stay on that path. There is a way back to our rightful home. It is, and always will be, Jesus.
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I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; [just] treat me like one of your hired men.” So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (From the parable of the prodigal son: Luke 11:18-20 AMP.)