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S. A. J. Lyttek, a multiple award-winning writer, always loved writing, but didn’t arrive at the profession in the typical manner. After college and graduate school, she plunged into government consulting. In this environment, she discovered a knack for writing tests, interviews and other measurements. That soon became the focus of her career—reigniting her love for the written word. Thus captivated, she spent evenings freelancing “fun” writing including short stories, poems, articles and cards. When her eldest was a toddler, she quit full-time work to stay home and write. Eager to spend more time with her children, homeschooling intrigued her. From preschool through high school, she homeschooled both sons while continuing to freelance. While an integral part of the homeschooling community, she developed and taught writing classes to a generation of homeschoolers. Married to her childhood sweetheart, Gary, Mrs. Lyttek loves to share her commitment to learners of all ages and her fascination with the written word.
Yesterday, Gary headed out west on a business trip. Saturday, Karl heads “across the pond” to visit his girlfriend and see some new places. Next week, Erik heads north for twenty days to be available for conferences, meetings and the like related to his job. (When I was in the military, I would’ve termed Erik’s trip a TDY.)
My guys are doing a lot of journeying.
For a bit there, it looked like all three of them would be gone at the same time and I admit to panicking. But Gary will actually return before Karl leaves, so my emotional state is better.
On one level, I’d rather have my guys around me all the time. But on another, especially regarding my adult sons, I also want them to find their paths, have adventures, and live abundantly.
I often feel a lot like Mara in Three Impossible Tasks when she’s sending off Garth. Crying because I will miss the one leaving, but encouraged because he is doing what Tel (God) and life ask of him.
In the remaining two books, releasing this Friday, there’s a lot of journeying. Especially for Garth and Nellie who not only travel around the world they know, but through two different time periods in the past world. Sometimes it’s their decision (they think) to take an action that leads them on another journey. Sometimes, they are captive to travels and must simply experience what comes their way, good or bad. This week’s post relates more to book 5, Outside of Space and Time, and I will focus more on the final book in next week’s blog.
Because of the decay of information under Queen Subja’s rule, Garth doesn’t know a lot of his own history. Since Nellie grew up in the hidden country of Telantia, where a blend of royalty and priesthood reign, she did learn. Often, when they find themselves somewhere new, Nellie has at least a decent idea of where they’ve ended up. Sometimes that helps. Sometimes it doesn’t.
We are no different. Sometimes, as we journey through life, we know enough to have a fair idea of where we’re headed, where the path will end if we continue in the way we’re going. Other times, the journey strikes us as strange and bizarre and we wonder how we got to our new reality.
Whichever journey, logical or bizarre, God uses in the lives of his children. In our walk with God, trying to live by faith, we take paths of life that we think are our decision, but God uses that choice, that path. We also find ourselves catapulted into adventures and realities we’d rather not deal with; journeys we’d rather not have.
In Acts 27, Paul himself experiences a journey with risks that he would rather have not have lived through. Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous…, Paul advised them, saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” … But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.”
Paul knew he was headed to Rome, but he didn’t know the paths that trip would take. Garth and Nellie knew there were people and dinosaurs they needed to meet, whether or not they knew where they would go to find those new friends (and enemies).
My guys, too, have certain expectations of their journeys—sometimes fun, sometimes arduous, sometimes foreseeable, sometimes unpredictable.
But isn’t that the way of all our journeys, whether of life or faith?