The Lost Story

Don’t you wish the Christian life were a straight line? You gain new insights and show greater spirituality in life every day.

But it is more like a child’s scribble…a knotted mess that means something.

Leslie Fields tells a “lost story” that may describe your life.

I crossed the Sahara one year on an expedition truck with 20 others, meandering from Cairo into the heart of Africa. We got lost often, once for three days, wandering farther and farther into the African bush with insufficient water, no GPS, and no people to point the way out. We were tense: we had to get off the dirt roads before the monsoon rains began. For most of those months, we were covered in dust, breathing through bandanas, praying we’d find the right path.

Our expedition truck arrived in Mombasa five months later, nearly on schedule. We beat the monsoon rains, but the trip was not just about getting there. Every village, waterhole, and sandpit along the way had purpose and value.

When frustrated with progress, remember James’ instruction:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, ESV)

All that wander are not lost. Your life, focused on God, will get there, despite the detours.