The Mystery In the Mist

Our family has just returned from a quick visit to Niagara Falls, round trip from Virginia Beach. Growing up in Northwest Pennsylvania, I had been to Niagara at least six times as a child or young adult. Although a familiar place to me, it still felt very fresh as my last visit had been 22 years ago. Damien had been near Niagara on a few business trips in the past and had seen the Falls from both the American and Canadian sides. He had not done any of the tourist activities prior to now, however. As for the kids, complete Niagara Newbies, the visit was thrilling for them.

For our more practical post on what we did right and what we did wrong on our Niagara family trip, click here.

Power is Connected to Mystery

Standing by the Falls, I was fascinated by a thought. The sheer, raw power raging through the rapids leading to the drop, and then the thunderous drop itself, creates a haze of mist always partially shrouding the pristine view. Power and mystery intricately connect in this natural wonder.

Our Current Family Situation

After almost my entire life, and my husband’s entire adult life, of living on the East Coast, we are taking a free-falling plunge of our own this year. We have decided to move to Idaho to begin a new, middle-aged life. For many reasons, we’ve decided Idaho is the place we’d like to live and continue raising our family.

The practical thing to do would be to apply for jobs there and wait until we land a good enough one. Then move. However, employers will not hire much of anyone outside their immediate area the vast majority of the time. Despite our desire we have not been living in Idaho for the last several years because we don’t have a job there. But we can’t get a job unless we move there first. It’s a proverbial, real-life Catch-22.

Going round and round with this dilemma, we vacillated between two competing thoughts. We certainly wanted to be responsible grownups. But we also had a desire to see our kids grow up with cousins, live where we’d like to live, and create a life that we might actually love.

Neither of us by nature is a risk taker. We do not relish the sense of “adventure” many friends are telling us we’re about to have. I think we’d both prefer an adventure with a bit more security attached to it. Hmm, perhaps going on a “glamping” trip in a fully-equipped, air-conditioned cabin instead of a pop-up tent in the great outdoors with no bathrooms kind of thing.

We sought counsel and prayer, but couldn’t let the wide-ranging opinions of others affect us too deeply. In the end, we have finally decided to go for it this fall.

Heading Toward the Fall

We are right now in the fast-moving rapids of selling our house, packing, and saying goodbye to many bewildered friends and family. Stitch by stitch, we’re detaching ourselves from all we’ve known for quite awhile. The drop-off looms ahead.

There is a place on Goat Island where a guide told us that any object landing in the rapids at that point would have about 90 seconds before heading over the Falls. Although not literally, that is the position we have voluntarily put ourselves in. Our house is sold; there is no turning back. We are soon to give up our nice, steady paychecks for a very great unknown.

The Mystery of Faith

God is big. God is powerful. We know all this. Are we rightly connected to Him? Although not perfectly, yes, we are. We desire to live faithful lives before Him. We are clinging to the Scriptures that talk about not worrying about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25-36), and God as our refuge and help in trouble (Psalm 46:1). Essentially, by throwing ourselves into these fast-moving rapids, we are asking God to guide our ride, see us safely over the falls, and onto calmer, and hopefully happier, waters on the other side.

However, God is also mysterious. There is an element to Him that remains unknowable. Our vision this side of heaven is always at least partially obscured. We see through a glass darkly. I do not know how our free fall will turn out. Although we feel His nudging in many ways, we are not hearing from Him plainly, as in an audible voice. Few people do. The mysterious component of God’s leading only serves to illustrate the need for faith. If He told us everything ahead of time, faith would become an unnecessary word.

I know all of this, and yet I keep wishing He would tell us just a few details more.

For now we are putting one foot in front of the other, doing all of the practical things required in this type of boat ride, and praying a lot.

We also remember that although mist can obscure the view of what lies behind it, when mixed with sunshine it can also help create a brilliant rainbow.