Journey of Life

Over the past several years I have had increasing internal struggles about my life. I worry about settling in and finding meaning and purpose. I have moments of intense awareness that this is my ONE LIFE and I want to be sure I am living it the best possible way. I worry about growing old, and even about hitting “mid-life” milestones. Just this morning I was evaluating my life situation. Am I here and now in the “right” place and time? How can I know for sure? My husband and I have made significant decisions about the direction of our lives recently, and I wonder if what we have done is “best.”


But this morning, I also reflected upon the well-worn phrase, “life is a journey.” And today, unlike other days, I had an epiphany about what that means for me. The journey of life is not (at least not for me) like a well-planned vacation with a moment-by-moment itinerary dictating my every move. I know some folks who plan their lives in this way, and, somehow, it seems to work out for them. I am not sure how! They make spontaneous choices like “what will we have for dinner” or “what color shirt will I put on,” but, on the whole, their life-plan is . . . well . . .PLANNED. My life journey, on the other hand, is more like an adventurous exploration. I have prepared in life for vocation and ministry, but mostly, I experience life as it comes. “Hey! I wonder where that road leads?” or “You know, we had planned to stay home and crash early tonight, but let’s have a party instead!” “Move to South Korea? Why not?” It is almost never the route of least resistance, but almost always a growing, learning, God-inspired faith journey.

So, today, I find myself in South Korea—in a great school with great people, and with my family with me at every step of the day. It is great! And while I am compelled to create an itinerary for the next . . . oh . . . 10-15 years of my life, I think I will live in this moment, today. I think I will keep trying to find contentment in the adventure and explore life. I will put to bed worries about “right” and “best” and instead, embrace this moment of my life as a gift from our most adventuresome Brother, Christ Jesus.

As it turns out, my journey so far has been rich with loving relationships and redemption experiences . . . isn’t that what The Journey is all about?