Days 178 to 180 | Thoughts on the Journey
The last three days.
I’ve had a hard time trying to come up with a special way to end this description of our 180 day journey.
I’ve started the post and erased. Started again and erased. How many times? I don’t know.
On the surface, the last three days of our trip were spent riding in a car going down the highway toward our home in Oklahoma. We went in and out of a couple more hotels. One around Memphis, Tennessee and one in Fort Smith, Arkansas. We had a couple more Chick-Fil-A meals and got a special frozen custard treat the night before heading to our house. It was a pretty simple last three days.
Yet on the inside of that sedan so much more was going on.
Three little girls were counting down the minutes until they could get home and hug their dog, play with their toys, and swing from the tree in our backyard.
Conversations were had about our trip. We talked about our favorite places that we visited, laughed about our funny moments, giggled about the times that we each (OK, just most of us) had a meltdown, and remembered some of the amazing people God brought through our path.
Along that highway to home, I tried to cherish the last moments of dreaming and adventuring with my sweet girls and my best friend before we entered back into the normal pulls of everyday life.
We were just riding along, but on the inside God continued to do a work in my heart. The closer we got home, the more we wanted to be there. The further away we were from Europe, the more it seemed like we were waking up from a dream. Yet in my mind and heart God was reminding me that this entire trip wasn’t as much about the destination as it was the journey…and not just a journey from point A to point B, but my journey with Him.
The destination brings happiness and contentment for the moment. The journey with God brings everlasting joy and contentment in Christ, if we follow Him.
The destination brings a temporary feeling of excitement and adventure. The journey brings new growth in our minds and a desire to keep following the Way that leads to life.
Arriving to the destination of our travels, our goals, and our dreams is amazing. But the journey…trusting and following God through the ups and downs and loving and serving the people that were brought in your path…is where the biggest treasure is. Yes, the destinations on this trip were amazing, all in unique ways, but the journey of taking things day by day and trusting Him to lead the way is the true treasure.
This Journey One Eighty was an unforgettable experience. Even with COVID changing our plans and some of our hopes for the trip being washed away, it was incredible. As we continue to look back at our experience and see how God protected us, paved a way for us, and provided for us, we are in awe of Him. There were definitely frustrations and disappointments along the way. Yet, we can still be thankful. We can still strive to follow Him. We can still make choices that please him. We can still honor Him. We can still see the good.
Now, back to that little space in the gray four door car…it was a simple end to our journey. Yet in our hearts, there was a big lesson that knowing, trusting, and serving Him is the ultimate journey. No matter the time, place, or destination, He is the Way to peace and life.
“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.”
2 Corinthians 5:6-9
Thank you for taking the time to read about our journey. I’m honored that you did. If you have been encouraged at all, I am thankful for that. If you have questions about my journey with Jesus, please reach out to me at hello@journeyoneeighty.com. I would love to talk with you about it! You can also read my story about how I came to know Him here.
