IT HAPPENS A LOT. As I read Sojourners, I am overtaken by a sense of what's right for my life. It's as though the articles I'm reading project a light on the path that I am meant to follow. But then, seemingly just as often, something else happens. Thoughts of my wife and our children, ages 6 and 12, enter my mind and, in the presence of these loved ones, the light begins to fade and the path, my path, becomes less clear.
It seems sometimes that to live like Jesus, or for that matter, like a Sojourners contributing editor, one also needs to be like Jesus, that is, single without kids. Or closer to home, are actions that would or could take me away from my wife and kids for extended periods of time, e.g. participation in some kind of "peace force," as discussed in the April 1993 issue ("The Plea for Intervention"), better left to those of us who do not have young children, especially in our imperfect world with its scarcity of real community?
I'm aware that there are many forces and factors besides my wife and children that affect the path I choose to take. I'm also painfully aware that in my weakness I could use my wife and children to rationalize my avoidance of the essential. On the other hand, I do love them a lot and can, I believe, honestly ask how those of you who write for and/or read Sojourners feel and think about how the presence of a spouse and/or children should or should not affect our sojourns?
Dave Treul
Ada, Michigan
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