Everything I know about moving I learned from Moses and the Israelites who followed him through the desert. The entire Egypt experience is really all about me, forget the plagues, pharoah, and "let my people go!"

When I look at my life, I see one long journey from a place where I have been held captive - by one circumstance or another, to freedom and liberty. I cross deserts all the time. Sometimes my crossing is swift. Other times it takes me forever to conquer my life's challenges. I have often reached the 'promised land' only to walk away because of unbelief, sin, misunderstanding, impatience, disobedience, or refusal to follow God's plan for my life.

I return to the desert and there I learn more lessons.

I am reminded of my dad's too-many-times admonitions: "Why don't you go to your room until you figure it out? When you think you understand and can act rationally, come back. Then we will discuss your options."

This is the phrase I heard too many times. Either I had thrown a tantrum becuase I wanted something and he didn't think I should have it. Maybe I wanted to stay out late. "Why don't you go to your room...?"

Maybe my grades were unacceptable and I had become defensive. "Why don't you go to your room...?"

I remember getting into trouble and not wanitng to admit my disobedience. "Why don't you go to your room...?"

In my teenage years, "your room" was my desert.

Today- confusion, misunderstanding, disobedience, impatience... continue to take me to the desert! My dad isn't around to send me to my room. Life! Everyday life is often my desert.

One of my favorite books about life in the Sinai - the piece of land between Egypt and Israel, is A WAY THROUGH THE WILDERNESS. Jamie Buckingham teaches his readers a lot about life of the desert wanderer. His knowledge of life in the place where Moses and the former slaves wandered is fascinating.

In the desert there are three types of citizens:

The hermit who moves into the cave, stays there, meditates, communes, goes nowhere, touches no one.

The nomad who follows his flocks and, season after season, moves from one location to another, actually traveling around in a circle year after year- never moving forward or changing location.

The pilgrim who sets out on a journey with a certain goal in mind, a fixed destination.

Which kind of desert dweller are you?

Often I want to run and hide, just ignore the world, turn my back to others, do my own thing. Afterall wouldn't life be easy that way? Just me, no one else.

Too often I find myself just going round and round in circles, never accomplishing much of anything! Chasing after dreams, following others' ideas instead of my own, aimlessly wandering, season after season...

Really I long to be a pilgrim, focused on a set goal-walking on a straight path, traveling toward Jesus and the promise He has set before me. Waking each day with my eyes set on one destination, falling asleep every night, confident I have made progress and come a little bit closer to the place where God would have me abide.

Which kind of desert dweller are you? Are you content where you are? What are you going to do to become a pilgrim like our spirtitual and national forfathers?