I joined the U.S. Navy shortly after I graduated High School in June of 1983. What I didn't know then was that the experience would become a part of me. People reflecting on the past tend to gloss over things. The "good times" are remembered as being better than they were. The "bad times" are put forward so that it doesn't "sting" as much as they should.
People tend to forget that even the "good times" are remembered differently than they were. People, in general, tend to embellish their "good points" while diminishing the "weak points." Memory is strange in this fashion. I was, in a way, like Jonah. No, I didn't have a message to deliver. I was running. I was running from myself. I was running from Family. I was running from a lot of different things. Yet, wherever I went, there I was!
I was in a conversation with a co-worker a short while ago. I was recounting the time when I was 19 years old and on the streets of Tokyo, Japan. I told of a time when I was at this place called "Byblos." It is funny to remember that place now. What is missing are the times the problems I was running from came to the surface. It wasn't an "American" causing me grief. It was a "Japanese" that was causing problems. I knew that I eventually had to face the issue I was trying my best to avoid. Yet time after time, I would dismiss the problem as simply being "misunderstood." They understood, alright. It was me that was trying to shift responsibility for my welfare onto someone else.
Later, I ran across a scripture that spoke volumes to me. It prompted my search to look deep within myself. Still to this day, I run across situations that remind me of some incident while in the U.S. Navy. I run across people that remind me of someone I worked around. Instead of avoiding the situation, I pray that G-d helps me remember correctly. If there is something I did that isn't right, I pray that G-d forgives me. I pray for that person and that situation.
I realize that there will always be problems. Problems do not go away. Running from them, and they will find you. I also know that not everything comes with an immediate solution. People are facing problems of their own. People could also be doing what I did for a long time. It is my prayer that they come to know Yeshua as I did. That road from the pit where the Prodigal Son found himself is as long as you have personally made it.
This passage mentions the "warp and woof" in a garment. A garment is two different things using threads that are "warp" and "woof." The "warp" is the threads that run lengthwise. The "woof" is the threads that run crosswise. In short, these two things form the fundamental foundation of the garment. If something affects the "fundamental foundation" of a garment, it weakens the garment. In like manner, if something is affecting the fundamental foundation of your life, it shows itself up as a weakness.
Finding a fundamental weakness in your life is not easy. Dealing with it is hard. Expecting people to come to terms with it is nearly impossible. When you take a look at a garment, you see how each thread comes together. The lengthwise threads could be the people you have come across in your life. The Crosswise threads could be the situation and the decisions you made. A stain in the "garment" of your life affects the people in that situation. This stain, depending on how big, affects the surrounding areas as well.
Some will say and have said, "I'm not impressed!" Lucky for me, I am not duty-bound to "impress you." Finding your location on a map requires the use of longitude and latitude. These are invisible lines on a map to help find any particular spot. I found where I am at on the "map of life." I am traveling to where I need to be. Have you started yet?
Sincerely,
David A. Kitchens, Editor
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