Images & Reality

Most have never seen the endless grass of a prairie.  When I experienced this sight in America’s heart, I found the scene etching an image firmly on my mind.  I know I am an exception.  Prairies are unique to just a few places in the world, often void of people. 
 
Far too often, I catch myself using images that do not readily translate into reality for those listening to my words.  Images of New York do not makes sense to someone who has never stepped foot outside of California.  India is confusing to most Americans.  London is special, yet London is not the typical images of Big Ben and Parliament. 
 
I wonder if there is way that you and I can bring our insights, images, and experiences into reality for those with whom we want to share our journeys.  Are we stuck in the worlds of our imagination or can we travel to created and nurtured by another?  Is it possible to connect images with reality?  Can we bridge the natural gaps between the worlds in which we travel?
 
I believe we can.  First, we can make the attempt.  We can reach out to others in the spirit of sharing, listening, and learning.  The attempt can be risky.  Our audience may reject our story.  Yet, it is in the attempt that opportunities are born.  Second, always remember that one’s journey is not better or superior, it is just another journey.  We can learn from the journeys of others.  Perhaps they can take something from ours.  The secret of our journey lies in the truth we live.  Every step has some truth within it.  Living that out, in the fullness and wonder of the truth within, is the secret of telling our story.  In this process, we connect our images with reality.
 
God blesses each, “they [you children] shall sprout like grass on the prairie, like willows alongside creeks.”  (Isaiah 44.4)  The blessing does not have a lot of meaning; it is simply a fact like prairie grass, until it finds truth in our living.