A non-typical road

The Road Not Taken

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be on traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as far,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence;

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

-Robert Frost

I'm not going to act like I know anything about poetry. I like Robert Frost which doesn't say much since he seems to be everyone's favorite, and I'd put money on the fact that everyone knows or has heard the poem above. So don't let me fool you in thinking I am knowledgeable in that area. 

But I do know that I like this poem, and I know that it is worth reading. When I read something like this, I just want it to be speaking of a Christian's walk. To be about something more than words on a paper, which most poetry appears to be to me. 

I have a big problem. I struggle with normality all the time. Maybe struggle "with" is incorrect; I'd say struggle "against" is more accurate. I hate typical, I hate normal. Period. It's not something that makes my skin crawl or give me chills, I wish it did! But to me it's something like a slime that oozes so easily into life, and before I know it, I'm flowing down the stream of normality without even noticing it. 

In his book Love Does by Bob Goff, he talks of this subject perfectly:

"There's nothing wrong with being typical, I guess, but there is nothing fundamentally right about it either. I've never read in Genesis that God created "typical" and called it good. Instead, I think men who were bored made up typical and called it, if not good, at least acceptable. People who follow Jesus, though, are no longer typical- God is constantly inviting them into a life that moves away from typical. Even if they have normal jobs, live in normal houses, and drive normal cars, they're just not the same anymore" (pg. 15)

I must confess that I almost didn't include that last sentence. I had a hard time for a while with thinking negatively about stuff I guess around what that sentence talks about. Honestly I don't want that. I want something different. But who am I to judge those who are in those situations or settings. Living in that setting does not mean that a person is not following our God. And it does not mean that they can't/aren't striving against the normality of life. Who am I to look in and judge anyways?

Bob finishes off that same chapter saying this:

"I'm not that great at spelling and thankfully my phone autocorrects the words I type for me. What I've noticed, though, is that almost every time I type in the word love, it gets changed to the word live. It's kind of a reminder to me of one of the things I learned...about following Jesus. I learned that fully loving and fully living are not only synonymous but the kind of life that Jesus invited to be a part of. And because of that, our lives don't need to be just puffs of blue smoke anymore" (pg. 16)

I don't know what I will be doing in the future. I graduate in December, and the day after I walk across the stage is a mystery. But I do know where I am today. I know where I am this summer. The path less traveled is the one I desire. I pray that I can live out that walking well. I know He will take care of everything, He knows my needs, and my less important wants. Glory to Him is of the utmost importance, and striving to be like Him, which is not typical in any way, is what I want to do daily- no matter where I am or what I am doing. Help me and walk it with me, because I know that it will make all the difference.