Today is the day I start this journey. I knew it when I woke up. It’s time to get in the caravan with my friends and family and partners in ministry and see where God is calling me. I created this blog six months ago when I left my cathedral job and entered the world of tent making and re-imagining. It was time for me to change how I was living my life. I wanted more time to spend with my still pretty new husband, I wanted time to practice a more balanced life, with time to pay attention to God. I wanted time to re-imagine how we can create Christian community in a post Christian culture. While praying with a group of people who wanted to support me in this new adventure, I had the image of a caravan going into the desert. It resonated with the image that a priest friend had given me of following God’s call the way Abraham and Sarah did: going out into the desert without a clear destination, but trusting that there will be many sacred and probably not so sacred places along the way. I love the image of a pile of stones marking a special place. I have collected rocks my whole life, in the footsteps of my mother who has collected an entire beach over the course of her life. I married a geologist, my rock, and he has helped me find home for myself. Abraham and Sarah went into the desert as the ultimate spiritual adventurers.
This is my yearning, to be on an adventure with God and with other companions. Abraham and Sarah did not go alone. I imagine them as part of a lively caravan with a cranky camel or two, a beautiful colored tent, and a group of people to keep them company and make sure they didn’t get lost. So, today I am heading out, with my lovely sweet husband, the cranky camels, a lively colored tent and who ever else would like to come along. I hope that we will find many sacred places where we can leave a pile of stones.
Caravans and Cairns 