The Journey There
Last weekend was memorable for me. My dad and I went to the little town of Montagu in the lower Karoo, where we took part in an event called Karoo Poison. My dad cycled the 125km gravel road course, and I ran the 16km trail run, through the beautiful mountains on a farm called Leeuwenbosch. What a wonderful experience it was.
I’ll tell you more about it in the days to come, but let me start by saying this: it took us quite a while to get there. We live about 1200km away in Boksburg, and so this was pretty much driving from one end of the country to another.
Journey Over Destination
So we took it slow. We took 2 days to drive down, with a nice overnight sleep in between, and we did the same on the way back.
And man, what a special time we had on those long drives. Dad and I spoke about all sorts of things – sharing freely about the things going on in our lives, discussing theological matters, complaining a little about some of the struggles in our country and our personal lives, celebrating and being glad for the things we love and the ways God has blessed us.
I gotta tell you, I think that the journey to and from the event was probably more meaningful than the event itself!
And I think that this is a profound realization. The journey is as important, and sometimes more important, than the event.
I remember when I was training in the Methodist Church, I had a conversation with Trevor Hudson, who is a mentor and a role model for many of us here in South Africa. I have this clear memory of him saying that for him, getting ordained as a minister was never really the focus. It was the journey of learning to walk with God, and serve God, and love and serve His people – that was what it was all about, the journey not the event of ordination. That was so important for me to hear at that point.
Enjoy the Journey
Perhaps today you are on a journey, but you’re so focused on the end, on the event that you’re aiming for, that you’re forgetting to enjoy the journey.
I suppose the same thing could be said for when I was actually running the race. It wasn’t that I just wanted to cross the finish line. The aim was to enjoy the journey to the finish line!
Don’t get so caught up in the end that you forget the present.
God is with you now, not only one day in the future when you reach your goal. Enjoy the journey with Him daily – that’s what the Christian life is all about.
