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| My near-empty wardrobe! |
If you see me wearing the same clothes the next few weeks it's because this is all I have left in my closet - everything else is either thrown out, in my backpack or in boxes. I've a feeling that I want to live a life full of new experiences and good changes rather than settle in the same place and live in a fancy house with a big closet full of stuff I don't really need. I guess life only allows you that much time and that much space for what matters. That's why I don't want my life to be cluttered by all the non-essentials. Last Sunday, I had the opportunity to speak at One Living Church in Dandenong where I have been serving recently with my African brothers and sisters and I felt compelled to speak about what I called The Undivided Heart. As the Psalmist David sang, 'Teach me Your way O God and I will walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.' (Psalm 86:11)
Life often gets so messed up and cluttered by all the stuff we allow our lives to get caught up by. Are they really that important? Or are we just trading one distraction for another?
I've scrolled through quite a few travel blogs recently, and while I was often impressed by the number of countries some of these crazy backpackers have trawled through - how adventurous some of them were, and what mighty zest for life they had - I was also nudged by a feeling of futility at all this endless wayfaring. What is the point? Again, I like to ask myself why am I doing what I am doing or planning to do. People don't often stop to ask themselves this difficult question, because to stop is to listen, to listen is face up with the truth of the matter, and to face up with the truth is to change. It's confronting. So I think that's why a lot of people end up just traveling and going places in the name of 'adventure' or 'finding themselves', but in the end, here's my opinion - if you can't find yourself where you are, you won't find much else out there.
I've said it before that I don't want to just travel for the sake of travel. I don't want to see new places for the sake of having another new experience to my bucket list. That's not it. That is simply trading the monotonous life (a form of insanity for me) for yet another form of insanity - going places. What's the point? As King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, 'All is vanity, all is grasping for the wind!'
What matters to me then? My faith, my family, my vocation. For me, I don't want to just stay in one place and do the same thing and hang with the same people and live the same way all my life. But I also don't want to make the mistake of living an epicurean lifestyle that is self-centered and hedonistic in the glorified name of 'living in the moment'. I want to go places, explore, take on new challenges, meet new people, learn new things whether I'm at home or somewhere out there in the world. But all in all, I want to discover my purpose in Christ, and along the way, meet other like-hearted individuals who are also set on the same things. I want to empower those who didn't get the opportunities I've had - whether it's in music or education or whatever else I've picked up along my journey. I'm convinced that each step of the way, as I trust God and take the next leap of faith, He shows me what's next - and this is the true life of adventure. Living by faith, enjoying the gift of life, being a blessing to others, using your passions and skills out of a heart of love for God and people! What a life. I want to live it with faith. I want to be an intentional wayfarer.
So it's gonna be an insane next few months! While I'm in Israel, my family will be moving house. That's why now I'm packing the stuff for my trip in advance and everything else in boxes. What a strange feeling to know I'll be coming back to a room I've never seen before. What is home? It's that feeling again, yes wherever I go I'm only passing through... Exciting!
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