Dear Friends,
I just returned from our Ixim Mission trip to Guatemala. There were nineteen of us on the journey. One of the most difficult parts of the journey is explaining the trip and its purpose to our loved ones and friends when we return. This is because people will want to know what we accomplished, what did we build, who did we help and what long lasting impact will it have? And, I will say, “we spent time with our brothers and sisters in Huehuetenango. We went to encounter them and, in the encounter, to discover God.” Yes, we worked together and, yes, things were accomplished, but that is minor compared with the deeper spiritual encounter.
I suppose I cannot go on a trip without thinking about the journey taken in The Lord of the Rings. I read Tolkien for the first time when I was in junior high school. It deeply imprinted in my soul the wonderful transformation that takes place on a journey. It also reminded me that some things can only happen when we are lost.
When was the last time you got lost? Lost while traveling? Lost in a store? Lost in a book? Lost in an activity? When was the last time you allowed yourself to get lost?
Like the characters in The Lord of the Rings, so much of my life has been deepened by the experience of being lost, being out of my comfort, not being in control. When we are never lost, we fail to try new things. When we are physically lost, we end up seeing new sites, new towns or trying new restaurants. When we allow ourselves to get away from the known, we discover new interests and new ideas.
When we are never lost, we lose empathy. Being lost is uncomfortable: not knowing where we are, not knowing what is expected, feeling out of place. Whether it be because of age, cultural or economic differences, life experiences, whatever – when we know what it is like to be lost, we have greater empathy for those who are feeling lost around us. On our mission trip, we live part of the trip in the homes of our host families high on the side of a mountain, in the midst of torrential rains and eating unfamiliar food. We follow what Jesus teaches to his disciples when they go out to preach the Good News. “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house’…Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you…”
If we are never lost, we lose creativity. When we get lost (physically or in an idea), we start making maps and images in our head, engaging cognitive functions that are becoming harder and harder to engage. With my iPhone always with me, I no longer feel as lost as in the past because it tells me where I am and shows me a way out, but I am not sure that is always a good thing. How many places during my vacations in foreign places were discovered because I was simply wandering, not knowing where I was.
When we are never lost, we could lose our sense of the beauty around us. When we feel lost, we look at our surroundings differently. Or, more importantly, when we are not lost, we do not look at what is around us. Is it possible for you drive to work some mornings only to wonder how you do not recall a significant portion of your drive? Whether it is lost in a book, or lost in a car, or lost in a store, we will be more likely to notice things when we are paying attention, as opposed to being on auto-pilot.
When we are never lost, we lose space for God. In the quiet, still moments, God often speaks the loudest. God spoke to Elijah not as a rushing wind, not in the earthquake, but in a gentle whisper. If we are constantly rushing around within our plan, do we ever give space for us to hear God?
That is the goal of the mission trip, to be so out of our comfort zone that God can enter our broken hearts and, in doing so, heal us and transform us. Afterwards, the world does not look the same and we are not the same. Join us this summer, be willing to wander and be lost…to find beauty and truth and God.
Peace,
Fr. Damian