The Father's House

It was a divine shift you probably missed. 

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It started as a question about lighting, about two spaces that shared a similar ambiance, Joe's house and the hospital chapel. The more I dug, however, the more obvious it became that something more was at work, which could be summed up by two very similar sentences, with drastically different implications:

Shane went to his father's house to look for him.
Shane went to His Father's House and actually found (H)im.

Somewhere between these two statements is a transition, from the "seen" to the "unseen," where Shane begins to "walk by faith, not by sight," (2 Cor 5:7) and where Joe's house and the chapel stand on either end as visual proof of the transition not only for Shane, but for Oliver, too. 

Joe's House

When Monday came and went, Shane followed her instincts to Joe's house. She doesn't hesitate for a second to pull into the driveway, knock on the door, and call first for Joe, then for Oliver. When that proved fruitless, she begins looking for a hidden key despite the fact the house was dark and appeared completely empty. It's like her brain refused to accept the visual cues and proceeded inside anyway. Shane enters the unfamiliar space, calling out Oliver's father by name as she ascends the stairs of his split-level. Only when she determined with her own eyes that neither man is there did she "make the call" to Dale.

Shane went looking for Joe at his home because she entrusted Oliver to Joe's care. Whether consciously or subconsciously, she had charged Joe's father with the responsibility of bringing Oliver back home safely. Interestingly, what Shane doesn't realize is that she hadn't sent Oliver out to the Wilderness to Joe, she had sent him out to God. Following instincts and "making the call" up until that point were part of His Divine Plan. And, in the end, it was only God who was going to be able to do finish what He started. Not surprisingly, Shane would have to find Oliver's Heavenly Father before she would truly be able to find Oliver.

Table Talk
It's no coincidence that Dale and Shane had some time to chat while they waited on information about  Joe and Oliver. Unbeknownst to either woman, the content of their conversation would provide the "unseen" key to finding Oliver, and ultimately God.

All of Shane's questioning about faith finally found expression when she asked "what the point" of prayer is. The answer, "I don't pray to change God, I pray to change me," presented what would ultimately be the consequence of Shane choosing to pray---being changed in some way. And it wouldn't be the last time that evening Shane received advice about prayer.

Sight Unseen

The actual work of Shane's transition between the "seen" and "unseen" plays out at El Dorado Canyon. Her entire wilderness experience, and the gentle conditioning of her heart throughout, positioned Shane to finally meet God in a tangible way in her pursuit of bringing Joe and Oliver home.

As Shane speaks to Rita on the phone, you get a sense that everything is falling apart. Not only can the search parties not get to work until first light, she is without those closest to her and, we can assume, feels partially responsible for the situation overall given it was Shane who sent Oliver out with Joe. Later, as she stands alone watching everything going on around her, one thing is abundantly clear---what she "sees" is failing.

When Rita suggests Shane "hang in there....and pray," it seems to imply that there is some connection between relieving Shane's fears about Joe and Oliver and the act of prayer itself. Having the act suggested to her by someone she cares about made it far more likely to be internalized than if she had heard it from Dale, for instance. But the fact that prayer has come up twice in the course of a few hours is no accident---it's just shy of a neon sign. It's also interesting that, as Shane finally falls apart, that she says "Oliver" as she chokes back tears and then unexpectedly utters the phrase, "Oh, God." This subtle dialogue choice is a subconscious acknowledgement that Oliver belongs first to God, Who, in many ways, remains very much "unseen" for Shane.

But the end of sight is the beginning of faith, and it's on this Truth that Shane eventually stands when she "makes the call" to pray. While we will never know exactly what she prayed for, we can assume it had everything to do with bringing the O'Toole men home safe and whole. Shane couldn't "see" the method for their rescue when she prayed for it, yet by placing her faith in the "unseen" she received a tangible, if unexpected, response in Sandy.

In lifting Oliver and Joe up in prayer, Shane surrendered their rescue, control of the situation, and even herself, to God. And it's this Divine exchange----the prayer and witnessing its unconventional answer---that serves as the "key" to much more than Shane could have possibly imagined.

God's House

What takes place in the hospital chapel is merely the proof of the Divine work that took place at El Dorado Canyon.

Notice we don't see Shane's entrance to the chapel. Her entry to the Father's House is "unseen," as it were. And her demeanor there is so unlike it was when her search for Oliver began at Joe's house. Here, Shane exhibits an uncharacteristic peace about her that is new, no doubt the result of surrendering herself, and the content of her troubled heart, in prayer.

Perhaps most notable is the fact that where Shane once pursued Oliver, her presence in the chapel allows Oliver to come to her instead. Most telling is the fact that Oliver "didn't expect to find [her there]," nor did Shane expect to find herself there, except that she was "just so grateful," and something led her to the chapel. As their conversation unfolds, it's clear that prayer is the common element of each of their wilderness experiences. Not only did each turn to God in prayer, Shane prayed for Oliver's safe return and Oliver prayed "to be [there] right [then] to tell [Shane]" what was on his heart. By praying for, or about, each other they came into agreement with God, and their acts of faith became an unseen "key" that unlocked a new space---in their relationship with God, and with each other---signified by the chapel itself. 

Not only is Shane "starting to believe," but witnesses a stripped down Oliver who is candid about his experience in the wilderness, the content of his heart, and even his hope for the future. In addition to his physical presence, Shane is finally able to "see" the "unseen" content of his heart that was hidden from her previously. Shane and Oliver connect on a whole new level, complete with Oliver thanking Shane for "saving his life," which can be interpreted in both a literal and even figurative sense. ​She truly "found" Oliver.

When Shane sent Oliver out into the wilderness, she sent him not to Joe (or his house), but to God. As a result, Shane would have to "walk by faith, not by sight," to bring him home. In the process, Shane traded what she could "see" for what was "unseen," and ultimately found her way not only to Oliver in a physical sense, but in a spiritual one as well, reunited with him in the Father's House.

Transitioned,
~C