When I was a lot younger than today, I did some volunteering. I had the great honour and privilege of volunteering for a gentleman who wrote books and did talks on a wide range of issues including archaeology and history. He treated me very well. He gave me a lot of opportunities to help out and get to witness a lot of things I’d have never thought of seeing before. He was a great man.
Unfortunately, I was not responsible in that situation. As I was volunteering, I didn’t get money from the endeavour. I didn’t take the situation seriously enough and appreciate all that this guy was doing for me. As soon as I got the chance to do some volunteering closer to where I was staying, I just left the guy. I didn’t give any notice. I didn’t give any reason for leaving and I didn’t contact him for a long time. It was not a good reflection on the profession I made to be a believer. I wanted to just get on and move on with the least hassle and didn’t have the character to do what was right by aman who had done so much right by me.
What was even more remarkable was that the last time that I did talk to him, he did not harbour any ill-will to me at all. He still engaged with me with the warmth and friendliness that he always did. As far as he was concerned, there were no hard feelings.
Later on a friend of mine challenged me on that behaviour and suggested that I should learn what to do so as not to burn my bridges. It was one thing to find grace with this guy, it would not always be the case in other situations.
Indeed other situations did emerge when there were challenging situations after a period of time in a certain setting. When it came to the time to move on, I gradually learn what it was to be a diligent and faithful character in the scenario and ensure that the manner in which I moved on was done as honourably and amenably as possible so that as much as it was down to me, there would be no cause for hard feelings.
It’s an important lesson to learn in life’s journey, because there is no guarantee that where you start on the journey is where you’ll end up. The likelihood of movement can be disruptive and upsetting to others. That’s not something to avoid, but to engage with in the mind that this is all being done out of obedience to the One who called you on the journey in the first place. How you move on gives a reflection on how you see the One who called you. Sometimes if you stay longer than you should it gives the impression that you’re more concerned about pleasing people than pleasing God. Sometimes if you leave abruptly and rudely it gives the impression that you’re not concerned at all about the people who are left behind.
Movement in journey is inevitable. God is calling us to grow up and that calls for movement and change. As we endeavour to be faithful and wise to that, so we can reach the place where we can move on, grow forward and do so in such a way that those who are sensitive to the One who calls us will respond in such a way that we can know that there are no hard feelings.
(Photo by Amine Rock Hoovr on Unsplash)
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 