Further Up and Further In

When beginning my preparation for this trip, I knew that I wanted to find a way to communicate with my family and friends in order to keep everyone up to date and aware of what I was doing; however, I was not entirely sure of which method I would use in order to do so. Seeing as my range of followers varies from my 18 year old brother to my 86 year old grandfather, figuring out the best form of technology that would be easiest for everyone to use was something I was unsure of. That is until the week before I left for my trip, when my dear grandmother who signs her text messages “XOXO Grandma” and hits her phone against the palm of her hand in order to get it to go into portrait mode, said the words to me, “I really hope you get a blog going so that I can follow what you are doing this summer.” That settled it. If Grandma Peggy thinks blogging is the best communication technology for me to use, there would be no second-guessing.

My next thought was, but what will I name it? It seemed like such a commitment, and my older and much wiser sister quickly squished a few of my more stellar ideas, which she claimed to be “too typical.” Thanks, Kat. She informed me that the name of her blog came from one of her favorite writers. I thought about what some of my favorite books and songs were, and remembered that "Further Up and Further In" was a chapter title in one of my favorite books of all time, The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis. (By the way I recommend every single person ever to read this book, and if you've already read it, read it again. The end.)

So in this chapter of the book, the characters that appear throughout the Chronicles of Narnia series have arrived in the New Narnia, which is essentially Lewis’s representation of heaven, and are exploring the new land, when the Unicorn says this:

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!” 

This seemed like the perfect name for my blog, not only because reading this chapter of the book makes me weepy in the best sort if way because it is a beautiful depiction of what it might feel like to finally step into the place that we are all truly meant for; but this phrase also fits perfectly with what, as Christians, we are called to do. And what I am hoping to live out this summer especially.

During the last Sunday service before I left home, as a group of us who are participating in international missions this summer were being presented to and prayed over by the congregation, our pastor reminded us that “We are not called to stand firm and stand fast, we are called to go forth and go out.” Jesus tells us to go forth and preach the gospel to all creation, and to all nations (Mark 6:15, Matthew 28:19) We are called to go further up and further into this world carrying the Word of God in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions. Though there may be many mishaps, obstacles, adventures, and explorations along the way, ultimately this endeavor to the southern tip of Africa that I have only just begun to embark on, is a way that God is pushing me to go further up and further into his creation and into the hearts of his people. I can't wait to see were He takes me.