The Road Leads Ever On...

The road leads ever on…

That’s a line from one of the greatest novels ever written (give it up for Tolkien!) and the truth of my life.

I have wandered far, seen much and been permitted (at times) to come back home. But always with the intention of going back out again. This life I live, may it be permitted to let Him be known. May it be one in which His full intentions are executed. May it be one where I am found ever wanting and he is found ever sufficient. May the dreams that take His heart captive mine as well. May I find that it truly is better to be a gatekeeper in the house of my God…

Gatekeeper. This word is becoming especially precious to me. In the original context, a gatekeeper stood at attention, watching all those who came into the city. The word has been used for mothers (what will you permit to be brought into your home?) and I feel that this season—and the place that I have been filling—has had the beginnings of fulfilling this role.

I cooked—all summer. I lived with kids (everyone is a kid to me—substitute “college age students” here) and, as one of the oldest, was a part of creating our culture. Culture is a tricky thing—in homes, on continents, in bars and Starbucks and at sporting events, refugee camps. Culture is the way that we choose to conduct ourselves, the foods we eat, the way we gather in community, the clothes we wear, the words we use, the gestures we make with our hands. In every day, in every way, you are a huge part of your culture: whether you are actively rebelling against it and trying to get out from under its influence or blissfully unaware of its impact on you, culture is having its effect on you.

Then steps in Kingdom. This strange word, reminiscent of knights and adventures with flashing swords, calls for something deeper, higher, purer than culture. Kingdom is that which our Lord, Jesus Christ, asks us to step into. He told us, in His very beginnings, that it was “coming”. Then it was declared that the Kingdom of God was “within us”. It is almost as if we, as Christians, bear in our bodies that which both defies and rises up above culture: if we allow it.

Back to being a Gatekeeper: it is true that culture can define us, but truer still that we were made for the Kingdom. We were called to be under its influence, bringing it to bear in every area of our lives; thus changing the ways we dress, talk, eat and interact with one another to such an extent that we would be “known by our love”. A gatekeeper (the word which is coming alive for me) is one who oversees that which comes in or out, whether the gate they be guarding is a home, church or organization. If anything which conflicts with or does not move forward the ventures and goals of the group of people or home—or anything which hampers said group—attempts to infiltrate, the gatekeeper is the one who is called on to be aware and impede the progress of said antagonistic force. They are the ones who are aware of what is going on around their group to such an extent that those inside, under their protection, are able to be blissfully unaware.

Leaders are gatekeepers. They have been given vision, assembled a team and started to move forward in the direction which seems right. Those under their care have a say and create part of the culture that moves the movement forward—but they are guarded in such a way that many of the battles which are fought on their behalf, for their welfare, are unknown to them. They are safe, protected and endure through every attempt at attack because of the vigilance of their gatekeepers.

I have seen this in part at Camp Oakhurst. I have gotten to stand beside and behind some of the best souls on the planet (I don’t know how I’m going to leave them in two weeks!) and learned how to fight for them, and they for me. We have had hospital visits (including my own!), tiring days, grumpy attitudes and the unique opportunity to try to understand one another’s stories. We have danced together (yay kitchen crew!), laughed together, cried, got mad at one another and endured one another’s slights. But in the end, we created a culture where celebration, gratitude and teamwork were our first priority. Even when (well, every day when) the job was mundane, we managed to sprinkle it with laughter and fun amidst the drudgery…until it wasn’t a drudgery anymore because we had learned to serve one another.

I am indebted to these college age kids because of their profound ability to love one who was ‘different’—where I could have been the outsider, they took me in whole-heartedly. I have found, over and over again in my life, that the place where I feel “out of place” (who works at a summer camp at 27 years old? Or does YWAM at 26?) becomes “just the right place” when I follow His lead. I spent my summer in a kitchen and enjoyed (almost) every moment. And it was never because I necessarily enjoy cooking (it’s not like cooking when you cook for 150 people…it’s like making large troughs of food look delicious…it takes even less skill than you can imagine!) but always because of the people.

Always because of the people: the ones who want to link arms with you, dance with you, always tell you to go to bed (that was our first catchphrase and is still repeated far too much for my liking!!! Haha, but when you wake up at 5:30 am, you really should go to bed early!), and check in with you to make sure you’re okay. I am grateful for hugs, big laughs, Savage Brothers and Quakers Wives. I am excited to continue to follow all of their journeys and indebted (always indebted) to their willingness to create the culture that we have:

It is beautiful.

It allows for life to be a mess sometimes.

It lets others be heard.

It seeks to understand before it is understood.

It reflects Kingdom, however imperfectly, through the way we have chosen to love.

Two weeks left.

This season has been a much needed time of rest and as such, it reminds me that I have not journeyed far at all along the road that leads toward being a “gatekeeper” and “leader”. I am thrilled and excited to learn and grow in a new context, with people I barely know who love Him. I pray He binds us together in love as we create our culture and I thank God for the lessons learned here that I get to carry forward with them.

Keep seeking the Lord’s face and direction for me: He is good!

And He wants to make that known throughout the whole earth…