GET UP AND GO

This morning we read from Acts 8, and for various reasons that I will explain some little details jumped out at me. Here are the words: Walk over . . . He got up and went . . . on his way . . . had gone to Jerusalem . . . on his way home . . . Go to that chariot and stay near it . . . as they traveled . . . went down into the water . . . came up out of the water . . . went on his way . . . traveled about.

Jesus told his disciples "Go." The angel told Peter and John, "Go, stand and tell." God told Abraham, "Go to the place I will show you." He sent Elijah on a long journey before He said something important to him in a still, small voice. Jesus left heaven to come to earth. Maybe it is not coincidence that the Gospel begins with "Go." So does "God." Okay, maybe not. But maybe His calling often begins with a hearty "Go."

So the Spirit is whispering to me my own, very personal, "Go." In my case, it is to leave my office, to get some exercise, and to be more active. Maybe God is telling Daniel and me to "Go" on a roadtrip to experience something that will shape us both for a lifetime.

The truth is, I have been so tired lately. My get up and go has gotten up and gone. Neither Ellen nor I have slept for eight straight hours more than once or twice a year in the past two years, and we are both constantly exhausted. So my tendency is to want to be sedentary, passive and inactive during the day. Let them come to me. Let someone else initiate an idea, or stand up to get that diaper, or initiate a needed conversation, or volunteer to help that neighbor, or run down to that other place to pick up something.

So, I am sitting in Panera Bread instead of my office, doing a blog by wireless internet for the first time, experiencing life outside the office. And I am running some errands to prepare for the roadtrip rather than sitting and making a list. And maybe tomorrow morning, Ellen and I will start taking some walks at the beginning of the day. And maybe I will be a little less reluctant to stand up or to leave the house or the office in order to be out in public.

You know, where the people are.