I love this picture because to me it reminds me of the day God spoke to me about enjoying the journey and not getting so caught up in reaching the destination. I hadn’t realised it but I was often thinking about where I was going, the place I needed to reach, the next thing that I needed to do and that meant that I often missed the beauty of the moment.
I had days when I was very good at noticing the beauty in the moment and this was one of those days. I was at a National Trust having a Jesus day. I love these days because they restore my soul and reenergise me. There isn’t anything special about the day, it is just something I love to do and I know Jesus loves to do with me and so we wander, chat, just be together. It was in this setting that I had my lesson on enjoying the journey.
As I was wandering round the gardens I spotted this door and headed off to see what was behind it. I love doors as they open the way to something new, something that is often hidden while the door is shut. This door was locked but my something new came from the path beneath my feet!
As I walked down the path, eyes focussed on my destination, the door, I felt God tell me to stop. So I did. I then felt him tell me to look down. Wow! Suddenly I saw this beautiful pathway that was beneath my feet. I had been so intent on reaching the door that I had not taken any notice of the path that was leading me there.
This was when I realised that this was how I often went through life, missing the beauty in the detail of the journey! God reminded me that he is not concerned about whether I reach the destination or not (he is outside of time and knows the end from the beginning) but he is interested in how I get there.
I made a choice that day that I would take time to appreciate where I was every day and to savour the journey that God had me on because he was in it with me. To enjoy my season and not just wish away my life waiting for my next destination. I would love to tell you I have nailed this but this too is a journey!
Recently, God reiterated this lesson by showing me that sometimes we have to stop, lift up our heads and look around or we can miss the beauty of the journey. This happened as I was trekking the Sahara last November.
When you are walking in the dunes you walk along the ridges as this is easier. The walking is made easier still when you walk in the footsteps of the person in front of you. As you can imagine, this means you spend most of your time with your head down looking where you are putting your feet.
Now, I don’t know about you, but it’s not very often I get to trek in the desert. In truth, this was my first time and so I wanted to enjoy the scenery. As previously said though, I spent all my time with my head down watching the footsteps of the person in front. To enjoy the beauty I had to make a conscious decision to stop, lift up my head and look around. Though this was not always the most natural thing to do, the view never disappointed and made it all worth while.
I believe that in every situation we are walking through we need to learn to enjoy the journey. To stop, lift up our head and look around at the beauty we can see. I recognise that in some seasons this is easier than others and in previous blogs (see my old blog site) I have shared on walking out hard seasons. However, in every season I believe there is beauty that God has placed there just for us because he wants us to delight in the journey with him.
What will you look up and see today?
Consumedbyloveandgrace 