Modern Day Nomads: Hurt

Modern Day Nomads (MDN) come and go, answering to the One who gave them wanderlust!  They may be teachers, business men, counselors, mentors, diplomats ... the title doesn't matter.  They have taken serious this call to be a follower of God and for them, that means holding on loosely to their life for the greater good of the One they follow.  You don't have to live overseas to be a MDN.  I was a normal, middle-American MDN for a very long time.  The fact that I now live abroad doesn't elevate my MDN status ... just gives me another stamp in my passport (which all MDN have current ones, by the way!).

All MDN know that God may choose to have them live life in one place for a very long time or it could mean being transitional.  Being nomadic doesn't always mean backing bags.  Being nomadic is simply the willingness of the heart to let God direct the GPS of your life ... and not letting the "stuff" you own ... own ... you.  I know many MDN who have lived in the same city for years.  They are most effective by being there ... that's God's plan for them.

What's hard is when it seems that choices of others cause MDN to leave a place in which they've invested well.  We've all been there.  Looking back, there was a time when it appeared that the choice of one caused us to leave a place and head home.  However, over 15 years under the bridge and a whole lot of life learning later shows me quite the opposite.  God.is.always.the.keeper.of.our.destiny.

All MDN bear scars.  All Nomads have had times when it seemed that choices of others caused them to move.  However, truth says it was in these times that God allowed it ... all were a part of His great love ... all working together for good.  Nomads don't always see that in the moment.  When Nomads are hurt by others, it takes time to see with 20/20 again.  That's why other Nomads come alongside and hold up their arms, and dust off their feet, and put up with their ugly emotions ... because someone else did the same for us ... and we have have the scars to prove it!

"This is what The Lord says:  Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."  Jeremiah 6:16