As I have confessed in previous blogs, I am a planner. So it was a complete shock to my husband and kids when I suggested blowing off perfectly good airline tickets to instead embark on a road trip. We were hours away from flying home from Florida when I suggested this spontaneous detour. My husband’s grandfather lives in Alabama, so it seemed like a perfect time to visit with him. From there, we would drive back home to Connecticut in our rental car. Although my kids thought their mother had temporarily lost it, they were genuinely excited that we were extending our vacation with an extra adventure. But, after several hours in the car, the all too familiar “are we there yet?” started to resound from the backseat. To be completely honest, it started to come from the front seat too.
The first leg of the trip wasn’t so bad. It was short. We were comfortable. However, after the first stop in Alabama, the trip started to drag on, and we began to get a little impatient.
Interestingly, I find myself on a little “road trip” of my own right now. I’ve been waiting on the Lord for almost a year for a specific situation in my life. I have complete confidence that the Lord will fulfill His promises to me, but I too am getting a little impatient. Lately, I find myself asking God, “are we there yet?” Today is one of those days.
With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. – 2 Peter 3:8-9
Although the Lord’s timetable is slower than I would like, I have come to recognize that the Christian life is made up of a lot of “road trips.” All too often, our sole focus is to get to the destination rather than growing during the journey. Not to sound cliché, but the journey is as valuable as the destination.
Yes, the journey may be filled with moments of pain, disappointment, and uncertainty, but God allows us to go through it with a purpose in mind. You see, during these moments of waiting, God is calling us to draw closer to Him like never before. It’s during these times that we learn to trust the Lord in a new, deeper way. We must trust Him even if the journey we are on doesn’t seem fair or beneficial.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5
If you are on one these trips, ask yourself these questions. Why did God put me on this path? What area of my life is He trying to stretch or grow? Who else can I bless along this journey? Do I trust Him completely even though I can’t see the final destination?
Ladies, it is important to make sure that we take our foot off the gas from time to time and stare out the window for a few minutes to truly see what God has in mind for us. Once you start to see His purpose, you may actually begin to enjoy the ride.
