On the Journey

The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe, or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.
–C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain

Sunrise in Arba Minch, Southern Ethiopia

For in this we groan, earnestly desiring . . . that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
–II Corinthians 5


The past months have lent both time and experiences to deepen this understanding that the soul restlessness we have will not soon fade. I am thankful for joys along the way; today it is for friends and family and emails, cards, and prayers. It is for work and tasks that allow me to see a glimpse of the big picture of life, for women and children and faces of both sorrow and hope. It is for simple and petty things: chocolate, music, sunny days, hugs, jokes, potato soup. It is for the people I work with, and the people whose work allows me to be here.

The ghosts of our glories are grey bearded guides
The sound of our sorrows has stirred us inside
But I think maybe I’ve never felt more alive
I think maybe I’ve never felt more alive
I asked you just once if you thought we could be found
You never did tell me; but I think I know now . . .
--Ellery, album Lying Awake