Kenneth Boa - Recalibrate Your Life: Navigating Transitions with Purpose and Hope

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400 | Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426

2023 by Kenneth D. Boa and Jennifer Marie Abel

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Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

While any stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

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Cover design and image composite: Stephen Crotts

ISBN 978-1-5140-0073-1 (digital)

ISBN 978-1-5140-0072-4 (print)

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Ken

To my godchildren, William and John Stewart

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
(Proverbs 3:5-7)

Jenny

To my children, Heidi and Wesley Abel

For nothing will be impossible with God.
(Luke 1:37)

Introduction

The Road Goes Ever On and On

The Road goes ever on and on.

BILBO BAGGINS, THE LORD OF THE RINGS

I f youre familiar with The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit (books or films), youll likely recall Bilbo Bagginss walking song, The Road Goes Ever On, sung multiple times, in multiple renditions. The tune is hummed not only by Bilbo but also by Gandalf and later by Bilbos nephew, Frodo. One day, another hobbit hears Frodo singing a version of the lyricswhich Frodo apparently picked up from his uncle without even realizing itand asks Frodo about the words. Frodo explains that he heard the song long ago and that it reminds him of Bilbos last years, before he went away. Frodo continues:

[Bilbo] used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary. Its a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door, he used to say. You step into the Road, and if you dont keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.

This organic transmission of wisdom from his uncle offers a beautiful example of cross-generational influenceof journeys from two different generations lingering together and meeting for a time, and then the younger picking up the baton of the elder; the younger, in turn, passes the mantle of wisdom to others.

In the same way, those of us who follow Jesus are on a journey, a pilgrimage, to our heavenly home. As we grow older and prepare for our hand-off to the next generation, this metaphor of life as a never-ending journey may be clich, but it also brings clarity and comfort. We are not alone, others have gone before us, and still others are coming behind us. We participate in one anothers journeys. And if we are followers of Jesus, then we are all participating in one Bigger Journeya road that goes on until it eventually joins some larger way, as part of Bilbos song puts itone that is far better and more glorious than we can even imagine. Hardships and uncertainties may mark our tenancy on earth, but these are brief compared to eternity (1 Peter 5:10), and God is ultimately guiding us toward a destination free of all suffering and full of true pleasure that will never end.

As we look toward this destiny, God is ever seeking to transfer our affections and hopes from the temporal to the eternal, from that which we can see and touch to that which is unseen. We are learning to walk by faith instead of by sight, to see with spiritual eyes instead of worldly eyes (2 Corinthians 5:7, 16).

Even mature believers tend to have a diminished view of this invisible reality. Consequently, we may grow weary, disillusioned, or sorrowful (often without even realizing why). Especially when were younger there is the temptation to get distractedto become caught up in the day-to-day and to assume we have so much of our lives left that we can focus on eternal things later (even though none of us knows if there will be a later). As we age, there is a temptation to focus more on the past than on the futureto assume our best days are behind us and therefore to walk with weary feet (as one version of Bilbos song goes) instead of pursuing God and his purposes for our lives with eager feet (as another verse says) until we draw our last breath.

But lets face it, whether young or old, all of us can grow distracted or weary (Isaiah 40:31); at any age we can be tempted to stop straining forward to what lies ahead (Philippians 3:13). If our strength is to last and our hearts are to be renewed regularly, it is God who must do it. He is the One to empower us and push us alongto invigorate our activity so it doesnt become mere busyness and to reinvigorate us when our bodies and minds begin to fail. Only when he is living in and through us are we able to pursue this path called the Christian life (Galatians 2:20).