On your mark, get set, and GO! This brings back many memories from yesteryear. The sound that a race is about to take place. Though I have never been much of a runner, life resembles a race in many ways. Life is more like a journey than a race. At times because I thought life was a race, I was so focussed and in such a hurry to finish or get to the next mile marker that I hardly had time to take a breath and enjoy where I was in the moment. I have seen that life is more a journey than a race.
How is life like a Journey?
- Everyone’s experience is different— There are no cookie cutters in life. Our lives are different. This is an excellent reminder not to be too quick to judge.
- Everyone has a different itinerary- We are born in different places, with parents with unique identities and many more variables—some like hiking, others high-speed rail, the bus, rural or city, etc.
- Everyone experiences setbacks and roadblocks- No one has a problem-free life! Obstacles are the one variable that we all experience. Some may have more hurdles to traverse, but we will each experience difficulty.
- Everyone also experiences victories- Life is not one painful experience after another. Some blessings and joys come for all, and challenges along the way.
- Everyone has a story to tell- If you listen to our stories, often they regard steps along the way. Things that made us overcomers, blessings that changed our lives, and pain that taught us valuable lessons. I am finding that I love hearing the stories that people share. Listening is essential because it offers unique glimpses into the thinking and even the person’s soul telling the story.
I am thinking today of a quote attributed to Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
We can look back over life and remember things that can leave us disheartened. Yet today is where we are, and we can move forward on our journey.
The apostle Paul reminds us:” But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 313-14)
Wherever we may be today, perhaps the Apostle Paul can guide us; we cannot change the past. We give it to God and move forward. I like what C.S. Lewis said: “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”
You are where you are today. Most of us, if we could, would go back and change something. So my advice: pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and move forward. I may wish I was in a different situation, but today I start a new one. It is not a sprint but a journey. Therefore, I will stop and savor the moments and relish each experience. I will depend upon the grace of God and rely on His presence to lead me in this great adventure.
