"Enlarge my territory"

For the second time since yesterday, the prayer of Jabez has come to mind. Hence, I think I'd best be listening. The prayer comes from the Bible, in 1 Chronicles 4:10, "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, and that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain." So God granted him what he requested.

Yesterday as I was recounting my upcoming move and the communities I'll be able to participate in more fully, a friend said, "So the Lord has enlarged your territory." A whole book has been written on the prayer of Jabez, a prayer I had asked my Aunt Joyce, a missionary, to explain to me a few years back. I pondered her thoughts, which I understood with my head but not my heart. But now circumstances have put me where I finally get it.

You see, I feel like a bird in a gilded cage who's been set free to fly. Staunton is a beautiful community with historic buildings, shops, stores and museums. It's great for shopping and touring. Yet it's not me. I need sun, stars, grass, trails and sky. Here amongst all the buildings I have felt like a wild animal in a cage.

When I lost my car last fall, I thought it would help. I'd be forced to walk, forced to explore on foot, forced to come to terms and to peace with my surroundings. And on foot, I thought I'd encounter more people and interact more with the community. Instead as I became more fit (having travelled more than 20 miles on foot in a weekend sometimes), the City became smaller and smaller. I met few people, and found I needed even more room to wander and get rid of energy. People who exercise, you see, really DO have more energy to spend.

But then I was offered a job in Harrisonburg -- where acquaintenances I've met at races gather for weekly club runs, and where the jail chaplaincy to which I've been accepted as a volunteer operates from. And an upcoming move will also put me closer to my granddaughters, and their mom and dad. And now I understand what it means for God to "enlarge my territory." A whole new world has opened up.

And I, too, pray that I would be kept from evil, and that I may not cause pain. Relationships just do seem to come with pain; human beings hurt the ones they love most. My dad used to say that was because those who don't care about us can't hurt us since what they do isn't important to us. When we love someone, however, we open up ourselves to hurt. But God gives power over intentional hurt, and he can give the power to work through the unintentional hurts as well. He can prevent us from causing pain to others.

Today I came across the prayer of Jabez again, while these thoughts percolated in my brain. In her blog, "Running Across the Miles," Kristin Armstrong talks about working through her brother's brain injury following a New Year's Day sledding accident. Sometimes she ran, and she prayed for her brother as she ran. "Running miles for someone who can't is a very fine thing to do. The sun hit my shoulders and I knew God understood. " Ahh yes, I could relate to that. That's how I felt as I ran for Ryan Shay and the Chicago Marathoners a while back.

But Kristin goes on. "My parents left for the ICU in Minneapolis and I stayed back to tend to the minutiae that makes up our lives...and being the correspondent with hundreds of people whose lives and hearts are impacted by Jon. It has been incredibly humbling, especially as the bossy older sister, to see how the quiet and unglorified life of my brother has far greater and deeper reach than anything I have ever said or done. He is the kind of person who does what needs to be done, without fanfare or complaint, and by his steadfast presence he allows other people to fly. . . .For years Jon has kept the prayer of Jabez taped up by his computer." Kristin's territory, because of her writing, cycling and running roles, and because of her celebrity status, is large. Yet God, according to Kristin, has answered Jon's prayer for an enlarged territory; his is just in a more quiet, supportive, way. And Jon's territory, and his impact on that territory is just as valuable.

It's not the territory that matters; it's being in the territory God designed for us that matters. I am moving closer to the territory I've been given. And I pray that God will bless me, and that I will not cause pain.