Are We There Yet?

Read this on a blog this morning and it fit perfectly with what was going on in my head. I was thinking about enjoying the journey and that I want to do that, really I do. But the journey needs to smooth out a bit, it has just been too rocky, to enjoy very much. Then I scold myself for those thoughts and remind myself that the “enjoy the journey” reminder IS exactly for those times when you need the reminder. When the journey is enjoyable there is no need for a reminder right? Or as this author says:

I’m reminded of this as I drive down a different road to a different place with a restless heart inside me. Over the last few years so many changes have come–good changes, hard changes, and everything in between. There’s a part of me that loves the adventure. But there’s also a part of my that sighs like a kid in the backseat and asks, “But aren’t we there yet?”

We dream of the day when we arrive.

When we’re truly happy.

When we don’t have struggles anymore.

When we’re completely settled.

There’s a name for that place: heaven.

And if you’re reading this, you’re not there yet.

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we try to find heaven on earth. We want to get to the place where we can say, this is it. But there’s no such thing as this is it: there’s just the next step God has for us.

That job.

That relationship.

That move across the country.

They’re not the be-all-end-all you might want them to be. They’re just what God has next for you.

Now I’ll confess: that sometimes makes me whine like the kid on the road trip. Sometimes I just want out of the stinkin’ car already.

But beyond that feeling it’s comforting to know that I don’t have to try to arrive at perfection. I’m free to explore and pursue and go where God takes me.

If you’ve been trying hard to arrive then lean back in your seat for a moment. Roll down the window. Feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. And if you dare, maybe even enjoy the journey for a bit.

You’ll get there one day, my friend. Not today. Or tomorrow. But eventually.

And in the meantime, there’s so much in store for you along the way.

So what is going on now? Well, once again, no one is hurt (prayers of gratitude for that) except…the truck.