Escape!
In 1941, a warm Spring day, I walked to school as usual. It was at noon that I learned that my two younger brothers, Jim and Gene, ran away and had not attended school. I ate my lunch with difficulty, worrying about my brothers. Where had they gone? Why? Had they met with an accident? In 1941, there was no CSI investigation. (Oh, there wasn’t any television either.) My parents began a search for evidence….and they found the Boy Scout Manual, canteens, and a hatchet missing.
I returned to school reluctantly. About 4 pm, that day, a neighbor called and reported that he found Jim and Gene near the area’s Boy Scout Camp, tired, hungry and ready to come home. Later they told me they were going to live on berries, but they didn’t find any.
The neighbor took them to a restaurant and bought them each a hamburger, and then returned them home. (I secretly felt slighted – I didn’t get a hamburger). I don’t recall any consequences.
Escape for me was foiled that day forever — for Mother asked me to tell her first if I planned to run away. Any time I thought about being ‘mistreated’ as a teen and considered running away – I remembered my promise. It took all the fun out of it to tell Mom first!
There were other ways I learned to escape from the here and now at any moment. I escaped through reading books or while in the classroom, realizing I could use my mind to be elsewhere. I still think about the movies I watched — usually a musical — and I pretended I was the starring actress walking and singing all the way home.
I tunneled (mentally) through the floor of the church platform after goofing up singing duet or a solo. It was a long time before I learned that play-like was more than one word. Pretending was another escape.
We try to escape failure, physical inabilities, emotional short-circuits, financial distress and every day stress through various means. We go on vacations to ‘get-away’. From what? I recall overhearing a conversation, from a fellow teacher, “I’m really tired, I haven’t had a fun lately, I am going to have fun this weekend and go to St. Louis.”
Do we endure and live from vacation to vacation? To me that is similar to the waiting for a happening and await being married for a young teen to winning the Publisher’s Sweepstakes. Another form of ‘escape’.
The story of Jonah shows the extent of the power of Escapism to the depths of the sea. He tried to escape from God’s purpose in his life. He was to go to Ninevah and preach repentance. He tried to escape by boarding a ship, and in the midst of a storm ending in the belly of a great fish for three days. Jonah 2 contains his prayer…using phrases….From the depths of the grave I called for help, The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head, To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever.
He knew he was in trouble. He turned to God when all ways of escape were denied him. No books to read, no movies to watch, no pretending that the seaweed wasn’t encircling his body.
Like Jonah 2:9b, we must acknowledge that “Salvation comes from the LORD.”
Like Jonah, we question God, and we try to run away from what we fear or do not understand. We ask God, “Why?”
If we forget Who God is, we simply read Job 38:2-15.
“Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about? Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers. Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements? How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise? And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night. Then I made a playpen for it, a strong playpen so it couldn’t run loose, And said, ‘Stay here, this is your place. Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.’ “And have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’ told Dawn, ‘Get to work!’ So you could seize Earth like a blanket and shake out the wicked like cockroaches? As the sun brings everything to light, brings out all the colors and shapes, The cover of darkness is snatched from the wicked— they’re caught in the very act!
The phrase, ‘living in the moment….‘ comes to my mind. That is accepting what is and seeing God’s hand and purpose ‘in each moment‘. And God is teaching us to become willing to trust Him, to face fear of the unknown in this world by holding our hand. God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to this earth to make us ready to live with our Heavenly Father, our Creator.
Each moment of my life belongs to Him. I don’t need to escape to find happiness…for each day I find Joy in belonging to Jesus! I’m ALL IN for Jesus!
Why?
Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
How?
Philippians 4:8-9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.