End of the Year Thoughts

Well, the runaway freight train known as 2010 is whistling wildly toward its collision with 2011, at which point it will abruptly turn to mist and memory. I am old enough now for the years to pass with disconcerting suddenness. Yesterday it was 1990. The day before that, I was riding the Tilt-a-Whirl at the San Souci Amusement park, aged 10.


I said I was going to take a blogging break this month, but lo and behold . . . my break lasted a day or two. Still, Wilderness Fandango is changing. The changes are self-evident, I suppose, but if you're one of those people who enjoyed my holding forth on the state of the church and such (there may have been a few such people), I'll be doing a lot less of that. But this is still one part faith-blog. My blogroll still features the Jesus-bloggers in its primary position, you'll notice.  In case anyone was wondering, I'm not saying farewell to all that.


I think, on the other hand, it would be accurate to say I'm in transition. I haven't gone to church in quite some time, and I'm not sure I want to (so sue me!). I think I will, though, eventually. I'm waiting to "want to," I guess. And I have no idea where it will be. Like I said, transition.


Speaking of which, Viola's latest post is on spiritual transitions. He writes,

Oftentimes Christians will feel stuck where they are, frustrated, restless, and lack peace . . . but will not recognize that the Lord is bringing them through a transition from one phase to another.

And also:

Transitions often include physically relocating to another place where God wants you to be for a time, to learn, to grow, to have a new life-experience. Sometimes it includes taking a break and retreating from a some specific work or activity. Sometimes it includes taking up a new activity or act of service. Sometimes it includes journeying with a new group of believers and throwing your lot in with them.

So, yeah, transitions. And another way to describe this, one with a nice biblical connotation, is "wilderness." As in, Wilderness Fandango. But Viola is again helpful, with his post, Are you in the wilderness? Viola has five major points to make about wilderness sojourns. I'll list them here:

1. First, God will always take care of His people in the wilderness.
2. Second, if you remain in the wilderness, you will eventually die.
3. Third, the wilderness has but one goal: to sift us, to reduce us, and to strip us down to Christ alone.
4. Fourth, the wilderness is a symbol of new beginnings.
5. Leaving the wilderness always involves a cost.

Yeah, it's that fifth one that kind of makes me wonder.   But anyway, all this gives a pretty good sense of where I'm at these days.  Like any good blogger, I'll keep you posted.