Stories from the road

Do you remember going to back to school after the summer break and having to write something literary on the subject 'what I did on my holidays'? Or does that just show my age?? A few years back, our oldest son was set the task of keeping a holiday diary, which was a bit of a nightmare (for us as much as him, as we tried to get him to do it!).

Well having had a break from blogging, I'm back again. Aiming to put something up each week from now on, probably at some point on a Tuesday.

So, what did I do on my holidays? We did a bit of travelling - south-east Devon, northern France, south Wales. Managed to be in the right place at the right time, weather-wise (although this week's decent weather seems a bit ill-timed). And although we're not particularly adventurous, we ended up going to quite a few places we'd not been before - mostly beaches and coastal areas. There's something very restful and relaxing about going to familiar places, when you know how things work and where everything is. But I do like discovering new things and new places.

Over recent weeks I've also been reading about journeying, in the spiritual sense. It's become something of a cliche to speak about 'the journey of faith' but it is a very helpful metaphor. It reminds us that life is about change and movement - even if we end up in familiar places, we can't really stand still, not least because life around us changes.

The journey metaphor also allows for the fact that sometimes 'the road leads through dark places' (to quote Bruce Cockburn). Maybe some of you have had the experience of getting lost on your summer travels. Or having to keep driving when you just want to stop - or having stopped in a traffic jam when you wanted to keep going! Or maybe your travels included periods when it was just dull and apparently never-ending - endless miles of motorway, hours sat on a plane. I won't go on - you get the idea!

As we journey in faith, there will be times when our faith itself has to grow and shift and change. Perhaps prompted by some crisis in our lives, or simply by the passage of time, as we reflect on who we are and where we going. It can be very unsettling - scary even - as we question beliefs which once were firmly held, or discover that practices which were once so meaningful no longer seem to bring us into God's presence. But difficult as this part of the journey is, it can also lead us into new and richer and deeper experiences of God.

What we can't afford to do is pretend it isn't happening, or simply try harder, any more than we can neglect to put on the wipers and headlights when we're driving through a downpour. In both cases, it's a matter of adapting to what's going on, and trusting that we will get through it eventually, and that the journey will be worth it.