There and Back Again: God's Plan for Us

For Frodo Baggins life began humbly in Shire. It was a place distant to the rest of the goings on of Middle Earth. It was a place of safety from the conquests of the more dominate races of the East and South. It was Heaven. Here Frodo was in the presence of his family and loved ones. He grew there and looked up to his cousin Bilbo.

Our lives also began before we came to Earth. We lived with our Father in Heaven, grew there as his spirit children (Proverbs 8:22-30), and were taught God's wonderful Plan of Hapiness for us. But, just as most of us needed to leave home when we grow up, God knew we needed to do the same. He knew we couldn’t progress unless we left for a while.

And so it was with Frodo; while in the shire, Bilbo Baggins celebrated his eleventy-first birthday on the same day, that Frodo celebrated his 33rd birthday (his 'coming of age';) then it was time for Frodo to leave the Shire. After inheriting the ring from Bilbo, Frodo was sent on a quest that would effect his eternal destiny.

But Frodo didn't leave the Shire alone, and neither do we. Although we cannot see God, or remember the home we left, he has given us his Spirit to guide us on our journey back to him.