What was I thinking? Where would I sleep? What would I eat? What would I wear? I burst through and I told my Mom I had run away and I was sorry and I wouldn\u2019t do it again. She smiled and pushed some cookies and Kool Aid toward me. \u201cWelcome home.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b>When you want to run<\/b><\/p>\n
Running away sounded like it\u2019s a great big adventure but in the end, it was a big flop.<\/p>\n
Every time I\u2019ve run away since, I\u2019ve had the premise of rebellion and adventure and finding something better. The green grass, the bliss, the peace all call from the other side.\u00a0 It\u2019s the ultimate escape when things don\u2019t go my way.\u00a0 I constantly hear the urge to drop everything and go.\u00a0But it never fails to fail me.<\/i><\/p>\n
![\"runaway](\"https:\/\/static.guim.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/About\/General\/2012\/5\/25\/1337960635069\/runaway-child-008.jpg\")
I see runaways every day and I want to tell them to just\u00a0go home.<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0When the marriage rumbles, and words are minced by emotion and actions are misread by every whim.\u00a0Run.<\/i><\/p>\n
When things at work are difficult and the boss is demanding and no one understands.\u00a0Run.<\/i><\/p>\n
When the church doesn\u2019t pay any attention to my ideas and the music gets loud or the preacher doesn\u2019t honor some deep-seated belief.\u00a0Run.<\/i><\/p>\n
When the friendship needs a little more work and it\u2019s not all fun and games. Run.<\/em><\/p>\n When the words are harsh and cutting and the bandages run short. Run.<\/em><\/p>\n Five years ago I had\u00a0a wife turn and run. Urged by her friends and modern culture, she thought life would be better without me. Turning on God, her vows, and the safety and comfort of a lifelong relationship, she bolted.<\/p>\n Everyone it seems has an escape plan. They think they can survive as a runaway from life and it will be better on the other side.<\/p>\n And I run from God too. When the hard sayings teachings make me wobble, the internal self against the eternal truth should be an easy choice. But it isn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0Running from truth doesn\u2019t make it any less t<\/i>rue.<\/i><\/p>\n I pack my knapsack and announce that I\u2019m leaving. But it never lasts. Maybe for a couple of hours, or days, or weeks. At one point in my life it was for an entire year. But before long, the\u00a0call for home is too loud.<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i>Earnestly, tenderly<\/b><\/p>\n There was an insurrection against Jesus outlined in one of the Gospel teachings. When the masses realized that he wasn\u2019t going to be a meal ticket, they left in droves. Jesus turned to the disciples and asked, \u201cWill you leave too?\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 They looked around and said, \u201cWhere else would we go?\u201d\u00a0<\/i>and\u00a0\u201cYou have the words of life.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n To know you cannot run is both frightening and comforting. I want to hide, but I desperately want to be found.<\/p>\n \u201dWhere can I flee\u00a0from your presence?\u201d\u00a0<\/i>asked\u00a0King\u00a0David.<\/p>\n And he still finds a way to minister to my heart, even when I run. He ra<\/p>\n ins manna while I wander in my desert. He prepares a banquet table while I\u2019m still slopping pigs. He whispers to me while I shiver under the broom tree. He teaches me in the belly of the whale. He cooks breakfast for me after I return to my nets.<\/p>\n Now that I\u2019ve seen the Promised Land through the haze of mystery, I cannot forget that\u00a0this is my home<\/b>.\u00a0There\u2019s nowhere else I want to go.<\/i><\/p>\n Have you ever run away? How did it work out for you?<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I grabbed my backpack, took an apple from the bowl on the table, pocketed\u00a0 two of my favorite Hot Wheels and marched out the house. \u00a0I wasn\u2019t going to take it anymore!\u00a0I was eight and I was a childhood runaway.I made it all the way to the Dutra\u2019s house where they had a secret hide-out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1300,1302,1303,1533],"class_list":["post-1847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-run-away","tag-runaway","tag-running","tag-truth"],"yoast_head":"\n