Good afternoon, friends. This is Pastor Don. I’m in the middle of a captivating book called Solito which means “Alone.” It is the true story of a 9 year-old boy named Javier who has to leave his grandparents home in El Salvadore to make a 3000 mile journey to California to be reunited with his parents. He has never been more than a few miles from his little village but
he is driven by a longing to see his Mom again. He is in a group of 9 strangers who must travel by foot, bus, and boat through life-threatening encounters with frightening obstacles where his very life is threatened.
When I first picked up the book, I thought: “I’ve never been where that boy has been. I don’t think I can identify with him. Almost immediately, I realized that I have been there! I know what it is to be alone, to be in a situation out of my control, and to feel like no one understands. I know what it is to face dangers I can’t fully comprehend and I know what it feels like to be lost and not know which direction leads to home. Can’t you identify with that yourself?
When the journey got scary and dangerous, little Javier remembered the voice of his grandfather in San Salvadore and the touch and look of his mother in California to help get him to the next place. One step at a time! You see, home, in a very real way, is inside you. It is where God lives and where love lives. The wise writer of the book of Isaiah, said: Isaiah 30:
Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Let’s pray: God, our teacher, give us the spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear your guiding word when we need it most. Amen.
