Living the Journey in a World of Destinations
You already know what I’m going to say, don’t you? That whole “Life is a journey, not a destination” thing?
It’s been on my mind lately on the tails of posting a song about that on my Facebook page not too long ago.
My thoughts are these:
So often, we’re bound and limited. We can’t do “Z” until “Y” happens, we can’t do “Y” until “X” happens, and so on and so forth until we think we’ll never get past the letter “A”!
In a world of goals and deadlines, destinations and timelines, it’s hard not to get swept up in the mentality that those are the moments that matter. That the others are just stepping stones, strategic moves, or time spent waiting.
I’ve known this long, and probably you have too, but I’m learning it all over again:
Each moment matters.
It matters because it’s here, and you’re in it, and wherever you are, God has a purpose for you.
You were placed here with care. Wherever you’re sitting right now, reading this scribbling of mine on whatever screen is before you, God has a purpose for you right there. Right now.
Is it to pray?Certainly! We’re to pray without ceasing, after all.
Is it to give thanks?Undoubtedly! We’re to give thanks always.
To encourage each other? Yes! Daily, as long as it is called today!
Is it to take that very first terrifying step toward the thing you just can’t shake from your heart? That thing he’s placed there for you to do that seems too big to even think about, let alone set out to do! Perhaps!
Whatever it is, it’s in this moment. And the next. And the one after that, too.
Because you see, destinations are never guaranteed. Hopes, dreams, goals, plans—they’re all well and good when approached with the right heart, but think of the things we’d miss if we let all the time in between slip into a giant glob of it-matters-not-ness (aside: sorry for my word-inventing. I may or may not be—but definitely am—writing far too late into the evening).
So, as you stand on the letter “A” of your journey, thinking how very far away “Z” appears to be from here… just think how very close this moment is. You’re already here. You need not wait to be used for His glory. It’ll just take a different form now than it will when you get to “Z”—
but beautiful and perfect, nevertheless.
So often we feel bound and limited… but truly, we have everything we need for the purpose He’s set before us right now.
“There are things only you can do, and YOU are alive to do them. In the great orchestra we call Life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely.”
-Max Lucado
