Rhonda Reese Purtee

So today’s word is wilderness, and whenever I hear that word my mind immediately jumps to the Israelites’ 40 year wilderness detour. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate to drive, and I really do think that part of the reason why is because I’ve spent the majority of my driving life in Central Ohio, where we have two seasons every year; winter and orange barrels. However you think you’re going to get there, or however long you think it’s going to take, if you’re driving in Columbus, you’re wrong! Why is it so frustrating? Well, it’s messing up my plan – I’m not going to be where I want to be at the time I want to be there. The journey is not going to use the most efficient and familiar route. I’m going to have to spend time somewhere I don’t really want to be. Now, if I plan a wilderness trip, that’s fabulous, but if someone else forces me there, I’m not happy. When I look at that as a spiritual metaphor, it’s pretty easy to see that my wilderness detours are challenging because they always bring me to a place of fresh surrender. A giving up of my plan, my schedule, my wisdom, my control, and allowing God to set the route and the timeline. It requires me to find contentment within the context of uncertainty, to blindly trust Him, without qualifiers.