And You Shall Be a Blessing…

How often do you leave your home and go somewhere else to live for any period of time? For the second time in two years, my son and I are going off to live in New York City for seven weeks this summer. This reminds me of the Torah portion we read called Lech Lecha, where God first calls to Avram, not yet Abraham, telling him to “go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you” [Genesis 12:1]. Granted, we are not going forth to a new land. And God technically is not calling us forth. Yet, like the words of the Torah portion, my son is called forth to new lands to pursue his soul’s purpose and become a blessing in this lifetime.

My son has made the decision again to go to New York based upon what I believe is his soul’s purpose. (I am accompanying him as his chaperon.) He will be attending a summer ballet intensive. He is a dancer. By pursuing his dream of becoming a dancer, by leaving his home and going to this other place, he hopes to become “a blessing” in the form of a professional dancer who brings beauty and joy to those who watch him dance. In the process, he also will fulfill his soul’s purpose and bring joy and fulfillment to himself.

How many of us “go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you” to that we can become “a blessing”?  How many of us give things up to pursue the things that allow us to fulfill our soul’s purpose?

My son has chosen not to participate in other well-loved activities. He has lost friends. He has endured ridicule.

Would you like to be a blessing? Would you like to fulfill your soul’s purpose? What are you willing to do to achieve these goals? What are you willing to give up or leave behind? Have you ever noticed if God placed before you a land to explore? And if he did, would you enter it?