Lost is an interesting word to me and the concept even more complex. I looked it up and there are a wide range of meanings and usages for the word. It ranges from referring to the inability to find ones way to implying meaningless as in “his jokes were lost on me”.
Even if I limit the scope of my reflections to lost in the realm of navigation it still stretches the limits of my mind. When you’re lost, I think it obviously implies you do not have the ability (knowledge or skill) to get to the destination you desire. But are you lost if you don’t even know what the destination is? Are you lost if you don’t know where you are going? Or even more interesting to think about, are you lost if you don’t know where you are? Think about that for a moment. What if you are so focused on where you are going you fail to remember how you got where you are?
Why not take some time this weekend to read your old journals and reflect on how you got to where you are today. See the patterns, discover the progress, note the tendencies, celebrate the grace, remember the friends. Get lost in looking back and you might discover where you really are and in so doing find where you are heading.
While reading your thoughts here another meaning came to my mind. That of possession, or rather, the lack of possession is another key meaning to lost. I have lost many things in my life, and they are not all material things like a watch or the TV remote. For example, I have lost the desire to play on a seesaw, which I do not see as an issue. But what if I lost the ability to see? Now that would be a problem. Also, in this context implying that something is lost also seems to imply that at one time you had it does it not? I guess that works in the navigation context as well since being lost to me would imply you at some point were on track. You’re right Jay, it does boggle the mind a bit. We could go on about the whole concept of “found” in much the same way.
I have read a lot of great material in my life, but seem to have “lost” the ideas that seemed so great at the time. Did I realy lose them or are they still in there floating around ready to be retrieved when needed? Maybe I should keep a reading journal where I note the great things I read so that I can revisit them later without having to locate the book itself (which I possibly lent to someone else).
Oh well, good point to ponder Jay. Better go find those journals to reread (if they are not lost that is).
Comment by Dennis Rice — January 25, 2008 @ 9:36 am |
When I read your entry about a week ago…I immediately thought of the t.v. show LOST, my husband and I have been “hooked” on that show, but last season we were too busy to watch it. So, for Christmas I gave my husband the entire 3 season set….each Saturday night we’ve been watching 5 episodes at a time to catch up before the next season starts. Anyway, the combination of watching the shows and reading your entry, started me thinking about all of the connections on LOST how each person’s lives interconnected with other people and events on and off of the island. I started thinking about how this is true in my own life..and what an impact these interconnections have: a small example would be The Chapel: My family and I visited the chapel out of a desire to find a place that was more kid friendly than the church we belonged to. We did not personally think we knew anyone there other than you (and knew of you from bringing youth groups to Epworth). Well, each week a new “connection” was discovered: from business clients, to doctors, my principal and assistant principal, colleagues, substitute teachers, neighbors, After meeting Leslie at college we both realized that the other was a part of the chapel, childhood friends…it’s not so much that I “knew” people there…but the connection and impact each person had on my life outside of the chapel which then became intertwined with the chapel. Each person was part of different journeys in my life.
Then, this morning I was reading a daily devotional which focused on “God’s Purpose” and thinking back over my life, reading journals, etc. I’ve come to this…sometimes we are so focused on God’s purpose for our lives being revealed. Maybe we think we are lost and we just need to listen and obey so we will know God’s ultimate purpose for our lives..the big thing that he wants us to accomplish or live out. But our all powerful, all knowing God…doesn’t reveal to us the ultimate purpose all at once because we would not be able to handle it. It would be too overwhelming for us. So instead, he leads us one step at a time, (which is what I heard last Sunday from you and David) and if we follow….each step leads us on that path that he desires for us. So, getting back to your questions, “are you lost if you don’t even know what the destination is? Are you lost if you don’t know where you are going? Or even more interesting to think about, are you lost if you don’t know where you are? Think about that for a moment. What if you are so focused on where you are going you fail to remember how you got where you are?” My answer is No, you are not lost if you don’t know the destination, you are lost if you don’t know who to listen to or who or what to follow and You are lost if you are frozen and don’t move. I am so thankful that God didn’t tell me that thirteen years after the birth of my first child I would quit my job, buy a children’s fitness business, fly to Kazakhstan, adopt a baby, go back to college, etc. etc. Each area was achieved by listening to that whisper and taking those baby step and sometimes giant leaps without always knowing where I was headed (Okay, I know I heard that in what you and David were saying…but it’s like the light just came on and I’m starting to understand). or maybe I”m still a bit lost…
Comment by rufwriter — February 2, 2008 @ 7:03 am |