With so many people chased from their homes in British Columbia, an ancient Hebraic story of exile hit home this week. As I pondered the story, I was also reminded of situations when an individual is cut off from their roots or their dreams, their home or their plan and feels in exile from themselves.

The story is part of the life of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. He was a younger twin. His brother Esau, seconds older, was designated to inherit the wealth and responsibility of leader for the family. But Jacob was ambitious, so one day when his brother comes in from hunting and asks Jacob for some of the stew he made, Jacob answers, "Only if you give me your birthright." His brother agrees. The narrator hints that Jacob is the more worthy, because Esau shows he does not care enough for family responsibility.

Later, when their father Isaac is dying, he asks Esau to hunt for him and cook him a meal so that he can give him his final blessing. But their mother comes up with a plan to deceive Isaac, who is blind. The plan works, and Jacob receives the blessing.

But when Esau learns of this theft, he threatens to kill his brother. Jacob must flee.

At the moment that Jacob seems to have won, he loses everything. He should be master of the herds, but leaves them behind. He should be working with the family he has responsibility for, but he flees into exile.

The night he leaves his homeland, he finds himself alone in the wilderness, far from any other people. He goes to sleep with a stone for his pillow.

How would he feel in this moment? Would he blame his mother for her plots and his father for his blindness? Would he blame his brother for his negligence? Would his anger turn inward, blaming the ambition that cost him everything he cared about? Alone and angry, Jacob experiences exile from the land where he belongs, his family, and himself.

But in that lonely place, he is given a dream. The messengers of God are travelling up and down a ladder that reaches all the way from earth to the home of God.

This place that seems to be nowhere is a place that God knows. This spot where there is nothing but rock is a place God sees. Because of this ladder, this conduit, a prayer spoken in this place will reach to God. Because of this connection between earth and the divine, a problem encountered in this spot will be known by God.

In this place, the exile is broken. Though it is an empty wilderness, it is a place connected.

The dreamer might be tempted to think he had to stay right here, but the voice of God speaks to him. He is told that wherever he goes, God will be there.

Jacob has a long journey ahead of him. He will travel many miles to the place where his mother's family lives. He will be cut off from the land and people of his birth and his inheritance for at least fourteen years. He will work hard, and his path will not be smooth. The cheater will be cheated in his turn.

It will be a time of exile, away from land and away from family. It will be self-exile as he is cut off from his ambition to lead the descendants of Abraham. But even in exile, he will experience a connection to the God of Abraham. He will not be alone.

This vision of a ladder connecting the wilderness to God became an African-American slave song. In the exile of slavery, it spoke of connection and the hope of escape. "We are climbing Jacob's ladder" echoes the promise that came to Jacob that nowhere is too far for God to reach. Everywhere is included in God's sight.

Jacob left home angry at the world and at himself. There were many who could be blamed for his exile, and some of that blame turned inward. But with this vision, the anger and the loneliness melt away. He is not alone. And no matter how far from home he goes, it will never truly be exile.

Cathy Hird is a farmer, minister, and writer living near Walters Falls.