“Life is a journey, not a destination.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
I’ve never been much of a planner because I find so much joy in the adventure and spontaneity of the unknown. I prefer to be present in the moment rather than thinking about the next one. So it makes sense that this would be a quote that I have internalized and lived by—that life is about the journey, not the destination.
But recently, I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure to know what’s next, and I think it’s coming from myself more than from others. Perhaps it’s because I’m almost twenty-four and, outside of the community I’m currently in, it seems uncommon to still be so unsure at this age. Or because while I’m waiting to discover my next chapter, I feel like my potential is just sitting on a shelf, and it’s easy to get restless. Maybe it’s because I feel like my decisions affect my route and other people more now than they have before. Or because I think I’m meant to do some great “thing” but don’t know what it is, and I’m afraid that I’ll miss it if I make the wrong choice.
Feeling some pressure to make decisions isn’t a bad thing; it can actually be a great motivator. But we need a balance between the later and the now. I recently had a revelation where I asked myself, “When did I become so focused on the destination?” Believe it or not, I’ve been thinking so much about the future… what I want my life to look like one day, what I was created to be doing, where I’m going to live, how I can someday apply all the things I’m learning, etc… that I’ve kept myself from living in the moment. And these are incredible moments—an amazing phase of life—that are going to pass me by if I don’t change something.
God has been speaking to me through pictures lately. He speaks to all of us differently, but I’ve realized that this is one of the ways I hear Him best. Earlier this week, He showed me a hot air balloon like the one below and gave me a beautiful message through it.
As I’ve become more and more focused on the future, it’s like I’ve been so afraid of making the wrong choices that I’ve been too scared to make any at all and I’ve forgotten to enjoy right now for the fullness of what it is. It’s like I’ve been holding onto the ground when a hot air balloon is all fired up and ready to go. The hot air balloon represents life, and I get to ride in it with Jesus! When I get in and we take off, I have no idea where we’re going. But it isn’t actually about that… It’s not about where we will land or how long it will take us to come back down. It’s not about knowing exactly which route we’re going to take through a sky of infinite and undefined routes. It’s about letting go of needing to know what will happen and simply enjoying the beautiful view all around me. It’s about all the things I learn on the way up and around. About the laughter, the freedom, and the joy of just getting to ride. Since I know Jesus is with me in the balloon the whole time, it’s easy for me to sit back and say, “I’m ready! Take me where I’m supposed to be!” or, “Where do You want to go Lord? Take me there because I want to come with You!” It’s easy to let God do all the driving as I wait to see where we’ll end up. But sometimes, He stands there, smiles at me, and says, “Your turn! I trust you. Let’s just fly somewhere together and see where we go! For it’s not about the place or point where the balloon touches down; it’s about everything that happens before then. Be in the ride, my child.“
If God’s words aren’t enough to encourage me to refocus, I don’t think anything will be. He knows my destination and route and timing, because He knows all things. But those aren’t what matter most. What matters most is the journey with Him by my side, no matter where we go or who else is with us.
Sometimes we focus so much on our small destinations that we forget our real destination is the point when we’re called HOME. And we lose sight of the journey (our whole lives) to that point. The question isn’t, “Where am I going?” but rather, “Where am I right now and how will I live in this moment? How can I love life and be Christ’s light as we fly?”
Instead of seeing life as this thing I need to figure out, I’m choosing to see it again as one continuous journey composed of an infinite number of moments, and I want to live the best moment right now that I can. I want to ride today without worrying about where the balloon is heading. I’m no longer going to fear missing God’s best simply because I make a wrong turn. His power isn’t limited by our shortfalls as humans. If we accidentally stray off course in a sky of infinite courses, He will simply reroute us… because He can and He loves a good journey!
