We Are Voyagers

You were Voyagers.

Sail setters. And ship launchers. Moved by the wild waves. Carried by the weight of the wind.

The holy ruach of the Holy Spirit’s holy currents of Kingdom Come. Here as in heaven. As near as your breath. As close as a kiss.

You were Voyagers.

Pioneers and waymakers. Working your way through mud, mirk, and mire to find a new land. Uncharted and unseen. A generation longing for life. But a life un-lived to that point. No one had shown you the way. You simply had to find it on your own. Find it together. And find it you did.

You were Voyagers.

You saw sparks and hope. The kinetic energy of a community aflame. Answering the call from all corners. Coming together to spread the fire of shared burning hearts. 

Taking all you’d received before. But carrying it forward. A Joshua generation. Faithful and fruitful. Further up and further in. Crossing the River Jordan’s and crashing caked-up walls into crumbles and dust. By the collective cry of joyful, sacred belief.

You were Voyagers.

And we were watching.

Learning to love as you loved. Taking brave steps just as you’d taught us to. Spreading our arms wide in warmth and hospitality like the wings you’d covered us in. Venturing bold and beyond. Wrestling and waking. Discerning and discovering. Growing and going. We listened and then we led.

And we did it. Because you showed us how. 

Our courage is your legacy, even if our convictions feel fearful. We’re not carbon copies. Instead, we’re kindred spirits. Progressive like you were progressive. Expansive and open-minded and tender hearted and deep souled just like you showed us how. We grabbed the torch. And we ran.

You see, you were Voyagers. And you showed us the way to set sail as well.

If we don’t look like you, it’s because you’re not looking closely enough, you simply don’t want to see, or you’ve forgotten who you were.

But you were Voyagers.

And as such, wouldn’t you want us to forge ahead into these waters as well? To journey and explore? Thoughtfully and wisely. Care-fully and courageously.

We wear the wind upon our bodies. Salt sprayed upon our skin.

We have been bruised by the force of forging ahead. But we know you were too. As your own generation. Called crazy by the one that came before.

Why are you doing it that way? That’s not the way we’ve always done it. Why are you going that direction? That’s not the direction we’ve always gone.

But in and through it all, you wore it well.

Not heavy handed and hard hearted. But humble and hungry. And you instilled that resilience — not resistance — in us as well.

You were Voyagers. So are we. And what we share is enough and more.

Maybe the ship we fashioned is shaped differently. Our sails set to see a new sea. Our oars plunged to different depths.

Our sailors may sing a different song than your sailors. Our captains may not look like your captains.

But as fellow Voyagers, we follow the same North Star.

In this season, you’ve set your sights on things long ago. The calming waters of the way things once were. The sturdy shore of how it used to be. But as you go back, as you seek to re-collect the legacy of an earlier life once lived, may you first and foremost find this: not what you said or what you did or even who you were. But remember who you are.

You are Voyagers.

Sail setters. And ship launchers. Moved by the wild waves. Carried by the weight of the wind.

The holy ruach of the Holy Spirit’s holy currents of Kingdom Come. Here as in heaven. As near as breath. As close as a kiss.

I greet you with that holy kiss.

And from the shine of that Bright Morning Star, let the dawn of a new day lead you to New Horizons.

We are all homeward bound. Heaven sent and Eternal returning.

So, Voyagers: voyage. The earth and the sea are calling…