fuses and matches

"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." -Hebrews 11:8 (underlining added)

We cannot always control what we start. Once we ring a bell, it can't be un-rung. Once we say the words, we can't force them back into our mouths. Once we light that fuse, it's lit -- we'd have to move quickly to put the fuse out before it ignites.

Independence Day brings the annual fireworks lighting in our neighborhood, and throughout our city. Not just the shows put on by municipalities -- also just regular folks spending their money to light gloriously gawdy fireworks. These fireworks usually have amazing names, such as Roman candles, bottle rockets, black cats, nuclear sunrises. If you're into fireworks, you have your favorites.

Lighting a bottle rocket -- it takes some faith. We light the fuse, and presume to point it in a general direction (hopefully straight upward!). It could make an arc. It could streak through a haze of previous bottle rocket smoke trails.

Or not. It could tip sideways, and stay low to the ground. 

Once, I unwisely stoked a bottle rocket battle with a buddy of mine when we were teens. In the handle end of some wiffle ball bats, there's this tiny hole that can hold the stick end of a bottle rocket. Load, light, and aim. It was a predictably wild and silly night (in hindsight, we should've worn gloves and goggles for, but alas ... most stories we repeat in life involve doing something dumb and somehow making it through OK).

So we light the fuse. Then we wait and see what happens next. It's like this with bigger steps and life transitions too. 

There's just no way to always know where a path -- once started -- will ultimately meander. We take a new job, with no way of knowing what doors it could open for us. We join a new club, not knowing who we could meet that might change our life forever. We can't know every ending before every beginning.  

This is not just a modern-day sort of challenge. It's been this way since ancient time. "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going." -Hebrews 11:8. 

This helps me relax. 

I take begrudging and grateful comfort that someone following God STILL didn't know where he was going. And he still went out. And while it had its challenges, it turned out so well for Abraham and his loved ones!

It's the bottle rocket life of kicking some dust up, lighting some fuses, and seeing where they go from there. Live wisely and boldly. Take the chance on something good. Just because you don't know exactly where something's heading doesn't mean you're not following where God's leading you.

Future you will have more ideas of how to navigate what's ahead -- no need to figure out every last possible circumstance and contingency before you even get going. 

Time to step out, touch the lighter to the fuse, and see what's what.