The Long Walk Home

I’ve never been the most patient person in the world, which may explain why I tried to walk home one day after school when my mother didn’t arrive to pick me up as soon as I expected she would. School had been out for a while, and it seemed to me I was the only person left at the school. Being only in the 2nd or 3rd grade, I did not have a fully developed since of distances yet, especially those traveled by car, so I decided rather than wait it out I would simply walk home by myself.

Did it concern me that home was more than 11 miles away? Not at all! I didn’t know it was 11 miles away. Even if I had known, I would have had no idea how far 11 miles really was. Did it concern me that about 90% of the walk home would be on either an interstate or a limited access highway? Not at all! Did it concern me that if I left the school my mother would have no idea where I was and would be worried sick? Not at all! I was 7 and I didn’t typically concern myself with such trivial matters. Decision made, I didn’t dawdle. I started walking, confident I’d be home in a few minutes and, boy, was I going to let mom know she had messed up big time!

They found me walking in the breakdown lane on the side of I-285 just at the beginning of rush hour. I had been on my expedition for about 45 minutes or so, maybe an hour. I had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, once my mother realized I wasn’t anywhere to be found at the school. I hadn’t the foggiest clue how great an uproar I had created by setting out on my jaunt. In my mind, I knew exactly what I was doing, although honestly the big trucks and the speeding cars whizzing by had started to unsettle me a little. Although my mother, shall we say, clearly expressed her agitation and concern to me when I was delivered to my home, it wasn’t until much later that I began to grasp what a dangerous and foolhardy thing I had tried to do.

Sadly, I’m still prone to acting rashly at times. My behavior still causes all kinds of behind the scenes interventions that I am mostly unaware of, except as a theoretical exercise. I still struggle with an unseemly self-confidence that I know what I’m doing, even when the historical evidence consistently suggests otherwise. And I’m sure it will be a long time, on into eternity even, before I’m fully aware of the extent of my foolishness and before I fully grasp the great price that was paid to come find me after I wandered away chasing after happiness on my terms.

Maybe, like me at times, you’ve grown tired of waiting on the Lord (Psalm 27:14). Maybe you struck out on your own to find your own way, make your own happiness, be your own person. Maybe you’ve made it as far as the highway, but you never realized how far away your destination really is and how frightening a journey like that all by yourself can be. If so, then you should know the search party is out in force (Luke 19:10). You don’t have to walk all the way home yourself. In fact, you can’t walk all the way yourself. There will come a moment when a car will stop on the side of the highway just in front of you. As you watch, a door will open and a man will call your name, and before you know it, you’ll be riding home. It’s someone else’s vehicle, and someone else is driving, but it’s your home—the place you were trying to get to all along. When that happens, don’t resist the invitation to get into the vehicle. Climb in, buckle up, sit back, and enjoy the ride.