From Somewhere to Anywhere

On Friday, at ‘Music for wellbeing’ we sung, ‘You gotta start somewhere if you wanna get anywhere…’

There’s the old joke… A motorist from London is lost in the depths of Norfolk. He stops in a village and asks a local, ‘Excuse me, my man, could you kindly explain to me how I might get to Swaffham?’

The local looks up, pauses, and in a broad Norfolk accent replies, ‘If I wanted to get to Swaffham, I wouldn’t start from here.’

The well-known Chinese proverb states: ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’.

Every long and difficult journey is comprised of numerous small steps; sometimes we just need to take the first. Any worthwhile project may seem intimidating or daunting; we need to take the first intentional, deliberate, single action.

It’s often quoted to encourage, to inspire. Sometimes I don’t feel encouraged or inspired… which brings me back to Friday’s song:

You gotta start somewhere if you wanna get anywhere… People often claim to have all of the answers…

…Politicians …Do it our way, then all will come good and our problems will be over…

…Education experts …Teach this way, have these sanctions, then schools will be perfect…

…Christians …Be loving, courageous, prayerful and correct, then all will be well.

Sometimes I’m just grateful to be somewhere… aware that I’m on a journey… but not too sure where my ‘anywhere’ is that I’m heading for…

Take a step, take a shuffle, we’re all just muddling through… Yesterday I visited my friend Keith in hospital. He had major surgery a week ago and has been very poorly. He’s now starting to get better. He talked about taking the next step to his recovery – uncertain what his future holds…

Just me and you… Keith is grateful for his loving family, for reliable friends… encouraged that wherever he’s heading to he’s not alone… He has a strong faith and speaks of the peace and confidence he feels knowing that his God is with him wherever he’s heading.