The Journey

One of my favorite musicians has this song about our journey in life. A few of the lines go like this:

There is a joy in the journey
There's a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey... ("Joy in the Journey", Michael Card)

These words remind me that life is a journey and that it's not all about the destination. I often find myself focusing on the endpoint, and losing sight of the experience along the way. I think there are a variety of reasons I don't remember to focus on the journey. Sometimes the path is lonely and I really don't like to feel alone. There are just times in life when our path can feel like we're walking through a tube of insulated conduit, cut off from everyone.

Then there are times when the path is scary or painful. Who wants to dwell on that along the way? I find myself looking for the expressway through these times because I'm afraid of what's coming next. For example, my son is almost a year old. Part of being a new mom is the extensive education regarding Sudden Infant Death Syndrome that one is given. Well, the education was more than effective, I was terrified that something would happen to my son who was quite small at birth. They tell us that the risks of SIDS dramatically drops at one year of age. So, what did I do? I focused on getting him to the one year mark without missing a single breath. Somewhere along the way, I got a grip and relaxed a little, but what would I have missed if I hadn't? ...Charming toothy smiles, naps with the sweetest look on his face, all of his little milestones, and restful nights...

Then there's the problem that other people's journeys look far more appealing, exciting, easy, or adventurous than mine. It's so hard to appreciate my own journey when focusing on the curb appeal of an other's path. The reality is that I'm seeing only static glimpse into that individual's dynamic life. I don't know the kind of scenery or experiences that person has had along their journey that brings them to where they are today. It undoubtedly involved some level of pain, sadness,or loneliness, too.

Thus, I come back to a few more lines of Michael Card's song,

Forget not the hope that's before you
And never stop counting the cost
Remember the hopelessness when you were lost

I do have great hope before me and I will never forget the hopelessness of the past. The reality is that at times I do feel as if I'm in that conduit, but I am not alone. Nor, will I ever be alone again. Is there anything that brings more hope than that knowledge? Maybe it's time to take my eyes of other people's journeys and remember to live in the Hope that rose again for me.