Wherever You Go, There You Are…

"Wherever you go, there you are."

I really like that phrase. On so many levels it brings clarity, awareness, and empowerment to the person who apprehends it’s meaning. In our world of "never satisfied" and, looking to the next destination sometimes before we have actually embraced our current location, it reminds me that there is one traveling reality, or law, that I can never escape…no matter where I find myself in this world, there I am!

We try to escape our realities, perhaps because we have experienced too much pain or rejection. Sometimes we try to escape our realities because the pressure we are facing seems so great. Sometimes we try to escape our reality because we simply don’t like the cards we have been dealt, be it our income, physical features, or even family that God placed us in. So we escape. What we are really trying to escape are the truths about our existence that we don’t like. In short, we are trying to escape ourselves. We do this by physically relocating our bodies into places that we hope will free us from whatever it is that seems so daunting.

Exotic vacations; Fantasy and Romance Novels; Movies; Alcohol; Internet gaming; You name it, we have become a people proficient in diversion. But one law remains the same, we can never escape ourselves because wherever you go, there you are.

That quote comes from one of my favorite little books that challenges me severely every time I pick it up. It’s a book I have given to many people who were on the journey to wholeness, embracing the truth  that they are radically loved by God in such a dynamic way, that no matter what their current set of life circumstances may be, God does not love them any less. God’s love is unconditional, pure, other, and we find that love as we first experience the love of Christ which translates into the ability to finally love ourselves. The book is called "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A, Kempis. Here’s is the quote the phrase is pulled from:

"The Cross is always ready and waits for you everywhere. You can not escape it no matter where you run, for wherever you go you are burdened with yourself. Wherever you go, there you are."

The Cross of Jesus Christ has the power to transform any negative tape that continually loops in your head. The Cross of Jesus Christ has the power to lift you from the darkest night of your life. The Cross of Jesus Christ has the power to actually infuse you with the ability to love yourself, no matter where you have been or what you have done, so that you can extend love to others. The Cross of Jesus Christ has the power to transform you from the inside out into the person you know you were created to be, but you have been running from, denying the current reality that is still in process.

There is no place where we may hide, that the light of Christ will not find us, not in order to layer guilt or shame on us for the things we have done or left undone, but to free us from the tyranny of the dark.When we finally begin the journey of self acceptance, we begin to experience the abundant life that Jesus promised us.  The transformed life has been unshackled from the mistakes of the past, and freed from the fear of the future so that we can experience the fullness of life, beauty and love in the present moment, because really, that is all we have.

So let me encourage you to enjoy the moment you are in, allow Christ to free you from yourself and the walls you have built around your heart, and realize that wherever you go, there you are.

Dei Gratia
Monty