This morning I ran in a dense fog. I'm visiting my parents in Ohio where there is a great bike trail nearby, so I was looking forward to the run. It was foggy, so I waited to start the run until after sunrise, but it really didn't make much difference. It was still really foggy.
After spending a miserable winter in Western New York where I had to go to the YMCA to run, do some alternative indoor exercise most days, or dress-up like an Eskimo to run outside. I couldn't wait to run in 50 degree weather. The fog put a damper on my enthusiasm. I have run the trail enough to know generally where I am going so I wasn't worried about losing my way. I just didn't really enjoy the dampness, humidity and reduced visibility that came with the fog.
I had to remind myself to enjoy the journey, otherwise running 8 miles is just miserable. The attitude of "let's just get this over with" doesn't work when you're out there for over an hour. That just makes me cranky, which leads to a bad day. So as I ran by the trees I tried to enjoy the beauty of the bare limbs getting ready to burst forth with buds, leaves and flowers. I listened to the songs of the birds and enjoyed the different calls, not what sounded like the angry bickering birds I have been hearing at home.
As I ran past a marsh and heard the life within I realized that this is how life is sometimes. We are running in the fog and only able to see a little ways ahead of us. There are certain situations in life that are "need to know." We can't see far down the path, but it has been laid out for us. If we are willing to look, listen, and feel the path as we go along we will be given everything we need to find the end of the path. We might as well enjoy the journey as we go along.
I feel my ministry is changing, evolving as we look for new ways to form people's faith in a time when Sunday School no longer works for the majority. I know things will be different, better than I imagined. I just can't see far enough down the road to know what my job will look like in the future. I may take a wrong turn or two along the way, as the Church is trying new ways to share God's story of love and grace. This is uncharted territory, yet we have been here before. The wrong turns will be valuable lessons, and there will always be a way back. If I just keep running, the end of the path will be revealed. I will learn as I go and just as the end of the path is revealed, God will reveal Himself.
Eventually, about 2/3 of the way through my run the fog lifted and I was able to see to the next turn clearly. It was freeing to be able to see so much. The way was clear! I knew where I was headed and that I was going in the right direction. I was right where I was supposed to be. Eventually, the fog will lift and I will clearly see the path my ministry is to take. God will reveal the way and His glory will light the path.
Thanks for the reflection on running in the fog and its metaphor for life and ministry. There are many times in my own ministry when I felt uncertain as to what the future held, but learn to trust the daily path God has given us. A scripture verse that helps me with this concept "Your word is a lamp unto my feet." Psalm 119:105. The key to that verse for me is to remember that the lamp the psalmist used was a weak oil-wick lamp that showed only a few feet ahead. It was not a brilliant LED headlamp that I use today. I appreciate your description as being a "need to know basis" and how it deepens our trust in God. The fog is part of our path, both in running and in life.
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