Stepping Onto Escalators

Wait for it, the grooved metal stair emerges past the rubber lip. Lunging forward, you extend your leg and drop your foot as the stair rises to meet it. Suddenly the acceleration hits you and your unstable body compensates instinctively. You're really moving now, up and onward.

One month ago when I started this experiment, I could not, through any efforts of my own, get things rolling. There was so much I wanted to do and experience, but an invisible wall blocked my path. It's hard to explain and even a mystery to me, but every effort on my part to accomplish the things I wanted was utterly cluster-fugged.

Now, as I take a step back and observe my life, I wonder why I didn't take my own advice I gave to a friend a long time ago. It's not an original thought. In fact, I've heard it said many times since. Put simply, you have to move in order to get things moving. Sitting and waiting patiently can only take you so far. In some cases, even with a ton of prayer, you'll still be just as confused as to what to do as when you started.

For me, the initial step was to trust that my decision to challenge social norms and depend on God was valid. The only way to accomplish this was to start my vagabond experience. Suddenly, things started happening. A new church that my friend recommended needed my help Sunday mornings, something I had been trying to do for months to no avail. I finally got matched up with a kid in need through the Big Brother Big Sister program. Also, I became a part of a new biblestudy full of energetic, passionate people, each with their own unique life experience. My boredom factor has dropped considerably. I actually don't have enough time now! New friends are popping up in all of the above activities. Every night I'm spending time with someone, which more than fulfills the last phase of my RFI goal, investing in relationships. I can honestly say that before I moved out onto the streets, I didn't know what I was missing. My quality of life has not decreased as I've spent night after night huddled beneath the tin roof of my 4runner, Shadow. On the contrary, I've been more excited about life than my first joyful year of college. I'm experiencing incredible blessings everyday.