ponderings from the open road.

(here is something that sat unfinished, figuratively 'collecting dust' within the confines of the blogging world, & perhaps in the back of my mind. these words have existed in part as a draft since April, so i suppose it's time to revisit them. & since i can't possibly retrace my steps from this distance, i suppose i'll just pick up & carry on... my apologies in advance for any & all confusion! please pardon my expressive inadequacies...)

some minds were set to tick furiously.
are such abstract ponderings universally present & divinely placed? or do some pace themselves into present-mindedness, never contemplating beyond?
regardless of the norm (because really, does it even matter?), i have discovered that when unleashed, my thoughts would prefer a velocity too fast for my own feet or fingertips. they speed back & forth - transcending time - webbing together what is, was, & has the potential to become. especially when i'm driving... like this:

(1) i used to love math.

(why?) i was good at it & i liked being able to be right - to find the solution, memorize the means of attaining it... there's a challenge to it that transcends simple process; the ability to actually provide absolute finality and completion gratifies. mathematical exercises of the mind are rewarding in that they yield universal security & can be explained & shared. math is an attainable truth.

(2) i also loved art.

(why?) in the aspect of creativity, there are no 'right' answers - it is a pursuit of broadness & timelessness with the transcendence of unbound meaning & the intimacy of personal application. expression & perspective are not to be argued because their existence is the truth of the matter. artists seek to capture a perspective that has yet to be obtained, but not simply to say something & then bury their own statements. art is an exercise of the heart that somehow manages to produce connections between people on a deeper level, & it has maintained this potential for as long as it has existed. it exists both outside of & in accordance with truth, for without some substance upon which to base expression, a fabrication cannot be formed.

(3) i love Jesus.

because He is beyond math or art:

i believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, & the life. He says that no one comes to the Father except through Him. but to deem this claim as closed-minded is to miss the beauty that exists in this truth. a claim with such great & meaningful implication as this cannot be forced into a mold of mathematical or scientific absolution. accepting Jesus's gift to mankind is not a surface proclamation that is as simple as checking a box, subtracting one person from the 'hell' side of things & adding their soul to the 'heaven' side. the Son of God dying for me is not a calculate-able exchange; His gift is only mathematical in that it is true & secure, but it is so much more. you see, deeming Jesus the 'right answer' & stopping at that means missing out on the BEAUTY that transcends at that deeper level due to a relationship with Him. Jesus Christ is the Savior: fact. He died for you, but not for the sake of adding & subtracting. He wrote love into the fabric of creation & INVENTED beauty so that we might have a greater heart understanding of Him, because God's person surpasses our mental capacity. beyond art, He is not merely someone's perspective, but the derivative of all perspective & expression. our longing to create comes from the fact that He created, & our desire to love from His love for us.

His entirety speaks to our hearts the way that adventure moves in our souls on a journey

& for this reason, i will ever crave the travel but never solely the map or the arrival;

i want to go & be for so much more than the accomplishment of having followed directions.

Jesus is my adventure & the craving that takes me beyond a literal destination to every experience that awaits me.

He is the beauty in the wide open spaces, the truth of everything that ever stole anyone's breathe away, & the mystery in every bit of life i don't understand.

my path

my compass

& the joy i experience along the way

more than math & more than art

He is / He loves / He gave

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"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — His eternal power & divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." - Romans 1:20

"One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." - Psalm 27:4

"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty & view a land that stretches afar." - Isaiah 33:17