Geographical Openness

Last night I made my first trip to a "Package Store" here in the south. For those of you who are not from the south, who probably think such a store sells mailing envelopes, packing tape, and styrofoam filler balls, you would be wrong. It sells liquor. I am not really a big drinker, but last night I felt like having something out of the ordinary, not wine or beer. So somehow I decided on sherry. Went over to my friend's house, had a couple glasses, and they just kind of made me tired. But they also made me better at Trivial Pursuit.

I'm also still thinking a lot about what I posted yesterday. And I'm realizing that I want to trust God enough not to put restrictions on where I'll allow God to call me. At this point I don't though. In fact, I'm a little afraid of approaching God to see whether or not God does care whether I stay in the southeast, because I'm worried about what the answer will be. But the truth is, God loves me and desires my flourishing; and sometimes that flourishing doesn't take the form I want it to. And sometimes it's very uncomfortable. And sometimes it means I'll have to do something I really would just rather run away from. But the truth is also that God cares about my desires, and isn't just a heartless dictator from on-high. So I want to trust that more too.

And I also think about Jonah. I realize that if God really wants me somewhere, there are ways to make that happen, even in my stubborness. But if that means staying here in the south, in a foreign land where likeminded sojourners have been very few and far between, and where I feel like a fish out of water most everywhere I go, then God will have to do some major transformation of my heart. Or, maybe God will just call me somewhere else.

I guess the bottom line is just that I want to be willing and trust God enough to not put restrictions on where I can be called to go (if God has some specific place in mind).