It's the Journey, Not the Destination

We humans tend to think in terms of the end result, our final destination, the finished product, the polished presentation. We don’t look at a half-finished painting and exclaim, “My, how beautiful!” We wait for the flower to bloom and never stop to admire the delicate, unfurling leaves. We give awards to the people who can finish first. Every parent’s heard, “Are we there yet?” at least a thousand times. We get frustrated with an unfinished project. We berate ourselves or others for uncorrected character flaws or bad habits we still haven’t managed to break.

In fact, the state of something being unfinished seems to cause us a fair amount of angst as a whole. We prize the completed. We either criticize or pass over the uncompleted. Yet is this really the way it should be? What does all this impatience, frustration, and hurry really gain us? What are we missing by our limited vision? Probably nothing when you really think about it. Truth be told, I’m not sure God would agree with our approach either.

Think about the story of creation for a moment. God didn’t just “shazaam” and poof it into existence in a single instant. He crafted it in stages, each more exquisite and complex than the last, to the final crowning glory… man and woman in His own image. Each word He spoke was another brush stroke in the breathtaking masterpiece of a master painter. You won’t see Him getting impatient. “Can we get to the mammals already? These dumb fish took way too long to make!” Quite the opposite, in fact. Take a closer look, “And God saw that it was good.” Not just once when the world was finally completed, but at each step of the journey. He celebrated the beauty of each and every unfinished moment.

Still not convinced? Skip ahead in history to the accounts of Jesus and His time of ministry on earth. You’ll read story after story of Him hanging out with regular people, just like you and me. He doesn’t seem to be trying to get them all fixed overnight either. “Yo, Peter, this temper problem has got to go! Seriously, man, I’ve been talking to you about your little problem for a year already. Why don’t you go work on it for a while? Then come back when you think you’ve got it licked, and we’ll see if we still have a spot for you on my team.”

Thankfully, that’s not the Jesus I know and love!! Instead, you’ll find Him enjoying everyday relationships with these imperfect people. Just as they were, a work in progress. The Bible doesn’t give us many details, but I imagine Him celebrating these people and their individual journeys just like His Father celebrated creation. He probably laughed with Peter over his impulsiveness or listened with compassion at the fallout from yet another instance where he lost his temper, and at the same time, exhorting him in love to try and try again.

So why are we so hard on ourselves and other people? Why can’t we enjoy the journey, instead of pouring all our focus into the destination?

Right now, I’d like to challenge you to think of one unfinished thing in your life. It might be another person you’re frustrated with. Maybe you’ve been waiting for something big or exciting to happen. Or it might be a project at work. It could even be something in yourself that drives you crazy and you’ve been working to change for a while. Whatever it is, stop whatever you are doing right now and hold that thing before you for a moment. Forget the frustration or hurry. Forget that it’s not yet the way you want it to ultimately be. Look for the beauty in the unfinished. Ask God to show you His view of this thing. How can you find enjoyment in what is, instead of obsessing about what isn’t? What is one thing you can do to celebrate the journey with this “thing” just as it is in this moment?

Am I My Sister's Keeper?

It’s easy to engage life with a hands-off distance. “It’s her business if she wants to do that.” “Well, it was her choice. Now it’s her consequences.” “I’ll just worry about my own life.” “It’s not my problem. That’s her job.”

And from a logical perspective, I can’t honestly disagree with that attitude. We aren’t supposed to be meddlers and busy-bodies. There is wisdom in taking personal responsibility for our own choices and letting others do the same. Nor do we have the time, energy, or resources to get involved with everything around us.

Yet as I look around me at the shambles the world is in...deep poverty, starvation, abuse, broken relationships, people and nature ravaged by war and neglect...I wonder if somehow we’ve missed the point of that conversation between God and Cain when that age-old question was first asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

What if the answer to that question really was “yes”? What if the question itself is nothing more than an excuse to keep from getting our hands dirty? What if we’ve turned personal responsibility into a reason not to care? What if minding our own business has become a way to avoid being all that God has called us to be? What if everyone everywhere really is our brother and sister as fellow children of the King? And what if we really are to be our brother’s and sister’s keeper?

Now I’m not talking about selling all you own and giving it to the poor. I’m not talking about turning this into chasing after every flashy or heart-rending cause someone waves in front of you. I’m not talking about the good ole Christian judgment and condemnation cloaked under “accountability” and “tough love”. Nor am I talking about forcing choices on someone else because we’ve decided that is the right path for that other person.

I’m simply talking about being wholly who and how God created you to be as you live fully in each moment. I’m talking about acknowledging the inherent value in each and every person who God has created. And I’m talking about recognizing that everything we do really does impact someone else. Maybe many other people. We truly are all connected in that sense, and that fact bears with it a certain responsibility.

Think for a moment about nature. There are natural, organic lifecycles for each organism. Sun and rain, winter and summer, life and death. From the grandest tree in the forest to the tiniest microbe in the soil, they all work together, each impacting everything around it. What if the tree decided not to be a tree anymore? “Oh, all those little animals can just go find another home.” “Why should I provide shade for these other plants? Let them make their own shade.” “I happen to like my leaves. I don’t think I’ll let them fall to the ground to enrich the soil this year.”

You’re probably laughing by now. Of course a tree can’t decide anything, let alone to stop being what it simply is! We humans are unique in that we can choose to live in a way other than God created us to be. We can choose to use the talents and personality He gave us or not. We can distance ourselves from life around us or engage. We have choice.

Knowing you have choice and knowing that every choice you make impacts someone else in some way or another, what will you choose today? What gift are you to the world simply in being yourself? What are your skills and talents and unique experiences? What passions, dreams, and hopes has God placed in your heart? What people are in your life, whether long term or crossing your path for a moment? What opportunities are before you right now?

Stop thinking this has to be something big by society’s measuring stick. I truly believe that a smile, a hug, a kind word, or a listening ear can make a difference. The tiniest ripples join with other ripples to make waves that change the world. Like it or not, you really do belong in this great big, wonderful, hodge-podge mess that is God’s family. You really do matter. And you really are a gift to the world. So be your part in making it a better place for everyone, especially for the sister or brother beside you right now.