The Road and The Inn

I didn’t know it would make any difference when I wrote it on the board that day. When I was a new teacher, I wrote (and still write) a quote on the board every school day for my high school students.

I got the idea from a college professor who did the same. But he used bits of alternative songs–unknown to me as a thirty-something student. I asked that he might, at some point, perhaps, provide a quote by someone I would recognize. Marx, maybe?

At the next class, I sensed him watching me for a reaction. I checked the board. The quote he used that day was this one: “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” G. Marx~

Not the Marx I expected, but a name I recognized.

In my own classroom a few years later, the quote I wrote wasn’t from Groucho Marx. It was by Cervantes.

“The road is better than the inn.”

I’d had it in my notebook for some time. When that day came, I felt compelled to use it. The teacher across the hall peeked in to see what I’d written. She did that sometimes. I thought nothing of it.

Years later, she told me that the Cervantes quote that day was part of the confirmation she was seeking about whether she should quit her job and take a position as a teacher overseas in a country hostile to Christian faith.

The next year, I was still writing quotes on the board. She was in Northern Africa. My co-worker understood the Great Commission.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Matthew 28: 19-20a (ESV)~

What I also didn’t realize that day was that within a few years, my husband and I would also travel abroad to a country not so friendly to Christianity.

We don’t know where the road will turn–or what it holds beyond what we see in front of us.

Some missionaries travel to exotic lands and stay there all their lives. Some go for days or weeks and come back. Some speak to a neighbor–or a stranger–right in their own home towns.

The inn lies ahead of us. Until we arrive there, we are always on the road. We will turn the right way when we listen to God’s leading–when we heed the voice of direction.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” John 20:21 (ESV)

Photo Credit: Unsplash

Nancy E. Head’s Restoring the Shattered is out in paperback! Get your copy here!

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you credit the author.

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the entities I have mentioned. Restoring the Shattered is published through Morgan James Publishing with whom I do share a material connection. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

22 Replies to “The Road and The Inn”

  1. A great reminder that while we never know exactly where the road will take us or what is around the next bend, God always does. So, while we often find ourselves walking into adventures we never planned it is all part of God’s plan to build his kingdom.

  2. The Holy Spirit nudges us, and it is such a beautiful thing to see the fruits of what happens when we obey and then see what God has done and is doing through us, in us, and all around us. Thank you for the reminder, Nancy. God bless you.

  3. Such a lovely story. Not only does it show a mission heart for your friend but teaches that even the little things we do might change someone’s life. That is part of the beauty of serving God. Thanks Nancy.

  4. It’s funny how scary obeying God can seem at first. But then when we do obey, it’s truly the most peaceful, exciting feeling! I pray I will always choose to obey His voice of direction!

  5. I am praying for the leading of the Holy Spirit for my life always, but as we are personally at a unique juncture in my family, my heart/mind/ears are especially attuned to His promptings. Thank you for this post. May our hearts and hands be at the ready!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: