Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?

Imagine, if you can, 5 days into a journey where all you've been told to do is get in your car and begin to drive. Just get in the car - don't worry about gas, I'll provide. Don't worry about food - I'll provide. Just drive. No hints as to a destination. GPS is of no consequence on this journey. Just pack your bags and go. I'm not sure how I'd respond to such a request from the Lord, but Abraham went. Now, the Bible doesn't give us any of those side conversations between Abraham and God but Abraham was human after all, so you know there had to be a few along the way.

"God - where are we going?"

"God - when are we going to get there?"

"God - how will I know when we've arrived."

"But God - that hotel looked nice. It even had a pool. . ."

"Oh C'mon - that was the fifth McDonald's and still you won't stop. I'm hungry down here. . ."

"But I've got to go to the bathroom - and I'm tired of holding it. . ."

Now maybe your travels don't sound that way - but with my kids I've heard it all - and so something tells me that Abraham, being God's child and all, had a few juvenile moments on his journey.

Juvenile moments. Spiritually we have them, don't we. Those moments where we forget who's in charge and we forget how powerful He is and we forget that we are here only because of His benevolent merciful nature which sees us for who we are and loves us anyway. Those moments where we forget that with Jesus, it's really not about a destination. Yes - he wants to take you to heaven and hopefully we're all going to arrive there someday. But with Christ, my becoming like Him is not about a destination, it's all about the journey.

Over the last several months, I've had to remind myself of this fact many times. When life as you know it and thought it was supposed to be falls completely apart and everything that you'd hoped for, believed in, counted on, and dreamed of is suddenly a pile of burning ashes, you stop and wonder, "Where are you going?" God - what is the purpose in all of this? What is the destination where you are trying to take me? Does it have to be this complicated? Am I such a bad guy that you have to whip me so hard? Isn't there a McDonald's on this trip? :-)

One thing is certain. Isaiah was right when he said that God's ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are certainly different than ours. His plans are not always the ones we have for ourselves but are certainly the ones that are most beneficial. With Him, the destination is a foregone conclusion. He knows the end from the beginning. Jesus has seen it already and He knows the plans He has for you and I. The destination is not in question. The only ones wondering where we're headed is you and me. God knows. And IF I have declared Him to be Lord of my life and IF I've placed my very being in His hands then I've got to trust that wherever He leads me will be good for me and so . . . I'm going to follow.

You see, lately I'm starting to appreciate, not the destination, but the Journey. The destination is never a question. I will arrive at what God has prescribed and planned for me. It's the journey that determines: 1) my arrival time, and 2) what I learn along the way. Wouldn't life be great if we woke up one day, God said let's go on a journey and we arrived 10 minutes later. Imagine how much we'd feel that we accomplished. "Look at me - by the age of 21 I have accomplished everything that God had planned." It's like those people who are born with silver spoons and receive everything handed to them. And then they spend their lives in some type of trouble or another because they can't find value nor appreciation in their destination. But the man who had to work hard, who had to claw and scratch and fight for every inch, knows the value of where he's arrived because he remembers where he's been. He remembers every foot hole, he remembers every pit stop. He remembers every time he didn't think he would make it through and somehow by God's grace he did. He draws strength from every inch of every valley that he was forced to cross. He finds peace in knowing that with every step of the climb, he learned to appreciate how far he's come and where he's made it to.

When I graduated from college in 1994, I thought that surely by the age of 38, I would have done some pretty amazing things. I would have arrived at some pretty amazing destinations. And truthfully there are moments when I look at where I am and I question whether I've accomplished anything at all. But then, I'm reminded that God is still leading me; that God is still positioning me and working in me, so while I've not arrived at my destination yet, I am going somewhere. I am on a journey to a place that God has designed for me and therefore that makes me somebody special to God.

In those moments when I feel low and I began to question my lack of accomplishments, I also find myself looking back on where I've been. You see sometimes our sense of failure comes from looking ahead at the daunting task and realizing our frailty in comparison to the size of the mountain that is before us. It is in those moments when we must learn to look backward at where we've been - not with desire to return - but to increase our faith because of the successes we've had along the journey.

As we've struggled through some things over the last few months, there were moments where I thought my life had no meaning and that all I had done was of no value to anyone. And then I'd get a card in the mail, or an email from a friend; a phone call from someone unexpected or even a financial blessing when you least expected it but needed it the most. I've come to realize that there is a beauty beyond compare along the route of the journey if you'll learn to appreciate those that you come in contact with. I can't stand being around people who have "destination disease." They are always looking for the next destination - looking for the next arrival point. They're driven and that's great. They're motivated and I'm happy for them. But the problem is that they're always looking past those on the journey that God brings in their path because they're trying to get a glimpse of the elevator operator who can express them to the next floor. God, help me to never look past where I am on the journey because you have brought to this place to learn something, to appreciate something and to be a blessing to someone.

So today - as I've rambled on - I hope that wherever you are and wherever you are headed, you will take time to appreciate the beauty of where you've been. In the heart of Virginia if you're traveling west on I-64 you will cross a range of mountains called Shenandoah. Really to go from one side of the state to the other, you don't have much choice but to cross this mountain range. In my travels around the state, I've had many destinations that forced me to travel across those mountains and many times I've seen it as a nuisance. But about 5 years ago, I noticed a place that when I get to the top of this one peak and my car crosses the ridge, I can look down and see one of the most beautiful sights. It is a valley that is dotted with homes and farms right in between these two mountains. For me, it is a breathtaking sight that I failed to appreciate for many years. BUT now, on my journey it is the sight I look forward to. No matter where God takes you, no matter what journey he has planned - look for the beauty that lies on your path and appreciate the lessons He is teaching - because they will be what you need to survive upon your arrival at your destination.

Until next time - God bless - Love you all ----- RP