The Way Has Been Made
This day is already in full swing.
As you read this, you are likely alert and awake – or as close to that state as possible. You have made some decisions already. What to wear, what to eat for breakfast, etc. – these are all critical decisions to the beginning of your day.
You likely took a good look in the mirror today, adjusting a lock of hair or brushing your teeth. Perhaps you looked in the mirror and “talked yourself into” whatever this day holds.
And now, here you are.
But you are not the first person to do this, not at all.
The way has already been made.
The work we do, the families we raise and tend to, and the inner world we’re developing are all mirrored in history. People have come before us doing the exact same things we’re doing today. The details are different, the context and unique personalities are in contrast, but ultimately today we are carrying on the traditions of being human.
We are inspired dust moving in our circular journey with God, self, and others.
As the wise teacher said, “there is nothing new under the sun…” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
While that may scratch the skin of our “need-new-things” culture, it doesn’t have to. Instead, there is a grace and courage that comes in knowing
The way has already been made.
There is a long line of people who have lived in skin before us. There are those who have taken seriously the invitation to shape their inner and outer lives around the teachings of Jesus. Some have succeeded and left a glowing trail behind them.
There are others who have tried, failed, and tried again, leaving behind a curriculum for learning the hard way.
Interestingly enough, the Christian scriptures call both of these folks “saints.”
There are those who have overcome addiction and fought it safely to their final breath.
There are also those who have loved their children well even in the ages where the didn’t like their children at all.
Marriages before have survived shelling and poison aplenty, moving forward in the sight of others and proclaiming, “If this has survived, then another world is possible.”
Jesus has moved through the dirt, rock, and oxygenated world before we showed up. The result was a life that is resurrection made present-tense and personal. Then Jesus had the audacity to invite us all to it, even though we somehow convinced ourselves that Godself saw us as depraved and worthless.
If you are looking for a way into life today, a way to work with grace and love others with courage and perseverance, the lever that you’re looking for is this simple phrase:
The way has already been made.
So today, receive this blessing as you go to whatever you have in front of you to do:
May you know that the mistakes you will make today have already been made, and others have survived.
May you lean into the wisdom of others, the ancients, whose mistakes have been archived for us in Scripture and history.
May you know that relationship resurrection is real, and there is a great cloud of witnesses who have taken the hard path down through the darkness and into the light – and they did it together.
May you know that the way of abundance, “life and life to the full” (John 10:10) is not a fever dream but a reality hovering just at our fingertips. Should we choose to reach for it, that is.
And may you know the way has already been made. You are not under obligations to create the way from scratch, but you may create a new way of walking the well-worn paths.
No, you are called now to the way you are making for others.
Photo by Jungwoo Hong on Unsplash