The Starting Point

            I’m working on a message about how God navigates our lives when we surrender them to him, and it occurred to me that often times he takes us back to our starting point. So many times our human tendency is to run from what is troubling us and to navigate far away from our problems, but at some point he gives us the strength to face them.  He navigates us back to deal with what seemed impossible to face at the time.

            Have you experienced this in your life?  It may be a difficult relationship you navigated away from, a bad childhood experience or a place that drums up bad memories. Your personal GPS took you far away from the situation physically, but if the truth were known, the memories still haunt you.

            I physically ran from my mentally ill mother.  When it was time to go to college, I didn’t intend to look back. My childhood years were painful; I didn’t understand her illness and I didn’t want any of it to rub off on me. However, years later after I rededicated my life to Christ while living in Connecticut, God’s first call to me was to return to my starting point in Texas and honor my mother.  One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:13:  For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.   Through Christ, I now had the strength to face a situation that had been so embarrassing to me as a child.  I realized this is the mother God gave me and I needed to care for her.

            When God takes us back to our starting point, it’s often a place of healing in our lives.  We realize where some of our idiosyncrasies and insecurities originated and by facing them, we can finally overcome them.  Going back to the starting point brings a new beginning for our lives and we can look at our journey from a different perspective, God’s perspective, not ours.

            For years, I was unable to openly discuss my mother.  I was worried I’d be judged if anyone knew about her mental illness.  However, since God took me back to my starting point, I realize that by sharing with others, they too can know that they can venture back to their starting point and can overcome through Christ who gives them the strength to be victorious.

            What about you, is it time to face your starting point?