I learned to drive on the highway before learning to drive around town. My father used to remind me that, in driving, it is always important to take the long view! He said that if my eyes stayed right in front of where the car was moving, my driving would be rough and there would be no time to react if something unexpected should happen. This strikes me as a good metaphor. It is important in life to take a long view. We need to look all the way back and as far forward as we can. We also need to look deep into life and wide with an encompassing vision.

Let's be thankful for those who have lived before us. They shaped the space in which we live. We have grown up in the relational systems they have given to us. We show our gratitude, not by follow their practices mindlessly, but by internalizing the best of the values they gave us and creatively forging newer and healthier ways of living to offer those who follow us. We have to make the best choices we can make given the circumstances we see. Our choices will change us and, inevitably, change our children.

In times of challenge, and even crisis, it is especially important to take a long view-- to look down the road as far as we can and imagine the world we hope to see and shape. Without hope, we will not survive. Without a vision, we will not thrive. Without direction, we'll be like friend who, when golfing, used to say, "Well, I may not hit the ball straight, but at least I don't hit it very long." Living that way, we spend all our energy moving from one urgent situation to another without knowing where we want to go and what we want to do.

The long view is not only looking back and forward. Sometimes, it is looking deep and wide, within and around, introspection and circumspection. Life is almost never just black and white. The same Bible that can be studied critically and questioned as to inconsistencies, contradictions, and outright errors, can also inspire and lead us to spiritual renewal and maturity. The same church that can endorse war, torture, and slavery, can challenge us to make peace and work for justice.

Difficult times may tempt us to give in to fear, believe self-destructive messages, and buy into a mentality of scarcity - that there is just not enough to go around, not enough of what we need. But there is another way. Life is challenging. Sometimes crises come and bad things happen. Sometimes they are of our own making and often they just come. The journey of life is much wider and deeper than we can imagine. The world is much deeper and more complex than it may often seem. There is mystery and holy presence and strength for the journey.

The journey of life is a personal one, but it is not taken in isolation. We do not travel alone, especially in challenging times. God surrounds and fills us. The community that loves us even more than we know walks with us. The communion of saints stretches all the way back and all the way forward, and surrounds us now. We are together in God's presence and in God's present. This belief does not take away the challenges, but strengthens us to meet them. Faith does not remove obstacles from us, but inspires us to overcome. Community doesn't help us avoid crises, but helps us find the courage to face our fears and not give in.

Thanks for continuing to bless me as we journey together.
  
Jack Price

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