Meet Lewis, a young boy from a broken home with a brilliant mind, is on a mission to make something of his life. Along the way, he encounters some that encourage, telling him to look past his “failures” and learn from each and to keep moving forward, and others who would rather exploit his gifts, talents, and insecurities for their personal gain. Impatience and setbacks thwart Lewis’ progress, each lending credence to his doubts. Sound all too familiar, a simple exercise in taking the shortest distance between two points becomes a test of patience and resolve? Where did the year go?
Are We Moving Yet?
Greetings from the flight deck. This is your honorary captain speaking. Today’s flight from O’Hare back home to Grand Rapids will be a short 27-minutes that when lumped together with a 45 minute cattle call, another 35 minute “pause” on the tarmac while we reboot the planes navigation system, and taxying through three zip-codes, should get you on the ground in about 5 hours and 36 minutes. Yes, that would be 2 hours longer than it would have taken to make the drive in a Chevy Volt.
When this adventure started, we were sure that the road we were on would take us places that we wanted to go, but soon discovered that it might not be as direct as we would like. Try to imagine a scenic drive through the mountains only to find that the bridge over the gorge is out; the detour signs are missing, stolen by a drunken Sparty in search of kindling for an unexpected victory celebration; and the nearest truck stop replaced its entire map display with Where’s Waldo books and short-lived Disney experiments. Ironic and applicable, but neither useful in addressing our immediate needs.
The Quest
Occasionally, we lose sight of the fact that with an extraordinary life will come with the everyday frustrations and the all too common malaise that keeps our feet glued to the floor. Those in the club will know all too well of the sensation to which I am referring. It is this innate desire for an extraordinary life that prompts us to retrain our brains to keep moving forward, walking with intentionality, sharpening our focus on what lies ahead, instead of looking back over our shoulder to see what’s keeping us tethered to our past.
There are lessons we can learn from our journey, or quests if you will –pardon my shameless plug. Maybe its something about ourselves we didn’t know or did know but didn’t feel compelled to address; a subtle nuance validating how the world actually works, or even a reminder that there are those that we encounter along the way who don’t always have our best interest in mind.
As this chapter comes to a close, there are lessons I learned that I will never forget. This year, my life was touched by some extraordinary people, who selflessly extended a word of encouragement, a subtle act of generosity or a gentle glance across the room affirming their solidarity; all selfless acts of kindness, gifts from compassionate people living out their passions and purpose in ways that run contrary to a culture that edifies selfishness.
No Miracle-gro?
As Dr. Henry Cloud wrote in Necessary Endings, and I paraphrase, “For something new to bring forth life, the old and dying must be cast aside.” Painful and humbling as it may be, the Gardener prunes that which can still bear fruit. Who am I to argue; who am I to question?
Next week begins a new chapter in an unpredictable story, complete with a new cast of characters, whose lives were destined to cross paths with mine, for this time in history to meet some unmet need. Something tells me, none of us will ever be the same.
Welcome to my extraordinary life. Thanks, for reading liking and sharing,
Ivy, we are going have to look for Waldo another time. Waldo is the one with the red and white shirt.
Al and his faithful, but color blind sidekick, Ivy the wonder pup.
Sorry Ivy, that was a cruel trick to play on a dog….