How Far Have You Gone?

Where I live, hunting is a Fall ritual in which I eagerly and wholeheartedly participate. For me, it is a sport of camaraderie and friendship, physical and mental challenge, and an opportunity to partake of the beauty of God's creation. It also provides some interesting lessons.

Yesterday, I harvested a banded Canada goose. The band was worn thin, tarnished by time and weather; this was obviously an old goose. I was excited to report the band and find out where this goose had started life. Bands are often collected from all over the United States and even Canada. I anticipated learning that my goose had, at least from her perspective, seen the world. I was wrong.

She was banded in 2002 in Manito, Illinois. That was less than 10 miles (as a goose flies) from where I hunted. In all likelihood, she had never moved beyond a 50 mile radius, and perhaps much less, in those 12 years. Canadian geese used to migrate, breeding and nesting in the northern US, wintering in the South and even Mexico. But there is an emerging pattern in the goose population where geese never migrate. They find a place where they are comfortable, and stay there their entire lives. They are called resident geese, and are the ones you see around golf courses, urban fountain pools, etc. They never go very far from where they began life, and they teach their offspring the same. That got me thinking.

How many of us appear to have gone far in our lives, but in reality never wander far from where we started? I am not speaking of geography, but rather growth and maturity. We are created to, metaphorically speaking, go places and do things. God's design is for us to travel a path which leads us far from where we begin in our beliefs and understanding of Him to a place of maturity and service. But many never do. Just like those resident geese, we become complacent in a place where we are comfortable, and because of that, miss out on the opportunities and challenges which lead us to greater growth. We become a population of resident Christians because we never go anywhere, and through our example, we teach our children to do the same.

This is a dangerous pattern, and one we must resist. Never stop growing, moving, changing. Face challenges as opportunities for growth and maturity. You might just be surprised by where God takes you.