being led---lessons from jayber crow.

i just finished what is now my favorite book: jayber crow by wendell berry.

it does not have much of a plot, nor will it capture you with adventure & action.

it is simply a story of heaven, hell, love, small town life, & the interconnectedness of each of us to one another.

the reading of this book came at a perfect time for me...a time of transition, confusion, a bit of uncertainty.

see, i tend to think that i have an idea of the general direction my life is heading...the type of job i'll acquire, the places i'll go, the relationships i will have. but recently i have been reminded that i am a fool for planning such things. no matter how sure i may feel or how much trust i place in others, nothing is certain. i am thankful for this uncertainty, though, because it reminds me that christ is sovereign. heres a passage from jayber that resonates with these sentiments:

"i am a pilgrim, but my pilgrimage has been wandering and unmarked. often what has looked like a straight line to me has been a circling or a doubling back. i have been in the dark wood of error any number of times. i have known something of hell, purgatory, and heaven, but not always in that order. the names of many dangers and snares have been made known to me, but i have seen them only in looking back. often i have not known where i was going until i was already there. i have had my share of desires and goals, but my life has come to me or i have gone to it mainly by way of mistakes and surprises. often i have received better than i have deserved. often my fairest hopes have rested on bad mistakes. i am an ignorant pilgrim, crossing a dark valley. and yet for a long time, looking back, i have been unable to shake off the feeling that i have been led - make of that what you will."

[in his heart a man plans his course, but the lord determines his steps.]

---proverbs 16:9