Journey

We are all on a journey.  Some times the path is smooth and sometimes it is very rocky and hard.  Sometime the path goes for a long time and other times it changes in an instant in very unexpected ways.  My desire is that this blog will be used to encourage with little pearls along the way and to help you realize that you are not alone on your journey.

 A journey is an act or instance of traveling from one place to another or something suggesting travel of passage from one place to another according to Webster's Dictionary.  Our life is a journey - going through experiences, whether good or bad, and ending up in different places from where we started.  Our journey is made up of many little journeys- from childhood to adult, from single to married, from school to career, falling in love, loss, and so many others.  We are being impacted by circumstances and people around us or we are impacting others.  We are not the same today as we were 10 years ago, one month ago, or one day ago.  We are being changed daily, sometimes in small ways and other times there are significant changes.  Whatever happens each day is affecting us.  We may think we are the same, but even the act of resisting change is making us more firm in our position.  You can see this in people experiencing a tragedy and their ability to remain strong becomes even stronger.   Any part of our journey can bring out the worst in us, or it can bring out the best in us.  Sometimes it is things that we didn’t know we had in us or even believed that we were capable of doing.   

We don’t always realize where we are blocking God from moving in our lives.  In our society, there are so many distractions and so many self- help books that keep us from really examining our hearts.  We can blame it on our family life, our work, our boss, or any number of things.  And we keep telling ourselves that if I can just get a break, or if I just work harder, or if I just do a little bit more than the other person, it will all work out.  But what is in our hearts?  What are our true needs?  What is our desire?  If we don’t know the answer to these questions, how do we begin to walk the journey that we are meant to walk with God?     

So what do we do while we are on this journey and things are happening to us outside of our control?  How do we respond?  Aren’t there things about us that we would like to change?  I worry a lot.  I lose my temper too easily.  I want to be a better person, a better spouse, a better parent, etc.  However, sometimes, we think that changing our circumstances is what we need.  If the circumstances change then I will be better.   If my job was different, if my spouse was better, if , if , if.   The reality is, whether your circumstances change or not, you are still you.  You take your ideas, the way you handle things, your view of everything, with you.  What we need to do is examine ourselves.  With everything, we have a choice.  A choice to love or a choice to be angry.  A choice to enjoy or to complain.  We can walk in peace or in turmoil.  I didn’t realize for a long time how a lot of little things had been impacting my life and who I was becoming.  My past was affecting how I was responding to situations and how I viewed these issues. 

I would like to share my journey and the choices that I have made and are making today to encourage you as you walk your own journey.  I pray that you will take comfort in knowing that God knows exactly where you are and the circumstances surrounding you.  My hope is that you will let God speak to you through these words and into your life and your circumstances.  I hope you find what God is saying to you for you are very special to Him.