My Place in This World

Then Joshua set up twelves stones in the midst of the Jordan,
in the place where the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood;
and they are there to this day
(Joshua 4:9)

Seattle at midnight. Dark and cold. Highway empty and eerie. Snow swirling in my headlights, steadily increasing.

This was my second advance trip for the Speaker of the House. I had only been in the U.S. for a short while and was stilling having to remind myself of which side of the road to drive on. At least being on a highway resolved that issue! I had flown from Atlanta across the country to Seattle and was now heading to the hotel feeling scared, stressed, and alone, praying I would find my way without incident.

The silence became unbearable so I turned on the radio. I don’t know who the previous driver was but God bless them for leaving it tuned to a gospel station. The song that was playing was  Michael W. Smith’s “A Place in the World. “ Words perfectly describing my situation, “Roaming through the night to find my place in this world… not a lot to lean on I need Your light to help me find my place in this world …If there are millions down on their knees, among the many, can You still hear me? … Hear me asking, where do I belong? Is there a vision that I can call my own?

And as I listened, a sense of peace and calm descended, I could feel God’s presence. Once again, He had come through for His lost and lonely child. And ahead of me a welcome beacon appeared – the brightly lit city of Seattle.

Going through a tough time recently, this song made a fresh appearance. It was playing on a local gospel station when I turned the radio on in my car. It showed up again later as a recommendation on YouTube which included the story behind the song. After receiving numerous messages from young people saying they wanted to take their lives, Michael W. Smith was inspired to write the song. A young girl poignantly wrote that she just wanted to find her place in the world and the song was born.

My experience on that cold, lonely highway was another stone of remembrance in my life, that He brought back to me at a difficult time. And a final note. I am often asked, “have you found your place in the world?” The honest answer is, “no I haven’t” but I have found my place in Him and that is all I need.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
(John 17:16)