“Enjoy the Journey” - This is what is written on the little sign that I have in my car, it hangs from my rear-view mirror and I need that sign because I tend to be a destination person. It started as an air freshener, but lost its smell a long time ago. At times I am a destination person, other times I am a journey person. I take the scenic route , if I have the time.
That is a horrible phrase: “If I have time”.
Did you know that we have the same 24 hours in every day and that is not going to change at any time soon. We honestly do have the time, rather it is what we do with our time that seems to be the issue.
I wonder if we counted how many times in a day or in a week we say, “Oh, I just don’t have time.” That is actually not correct, what is true is that you have not organized your time well.
We make budgets for money, we allot our money, we count our money. We are going to put our money here or spend our money there. But have you ever made up a budget for your time? What a concept right?
You sit down, you make up a timeline of your life, example: I get up at 6, go to bed by 10, in between these hours this is what am I going to do. From here and here I am going to have breakfast or from here to here I am going to have a lunch break or between here and here I am going to work and you actually see what you are actually going to do with your day, week or even month.
Maybe when we do up our time budget, we notice we have not allowed ourselves any time to even have breakfast. Am I allowing myself any time to have lunch or any time to rest in the afternoon? Where are you placing yourself on your list of time priorities?
Did you put down on that list a time to do devotions and talk to God? Talking to God does not have to be a special set time, but it has to be on there. If it is not on the list, it is not going to happen, lets be honest: if it doesn’t make the list, it is not going to happen.
Enjoy the journey, I think when we are making our time budget we think that the destination is the goal. We often think to ourselves, ‘I just have to make it through to the end of the day.’ That is really sad.
I am sitting here putting my hand up as this blog is talking to me, yours truly, definitely is talking to me!
“I made it through another day.” What a defeating statement and what a pathetic goal. I do not believe that is what God, our Creator wants to hear us say. He wants us to have joy, abundant joy, He wants our lives full. Where is that on our time budget? (John 15:11)
What does He mean? I think it goes back to my sign: “Enjoy the Journey.”
We are encouraged to make goals, 1 year goals, 5 year goals, 10 year goals. Those goals would point to a destination. When I reach my 1 year goal, it is going to be “Yaaa Hoo!!!” When I reach my 5 year goal I am going to have a party!
That is the destination. But why do I have a sign in my car that says, “Enjoy the Journey?”
God told me quite a long time ago, probably on one of our many adventure trips, that I should “enjoy the journey, that the destination is actually quite irrelevant.” Am I saying that heaven after we go from this earth to the next one, that that is not the point? I am not saying that, it is one of the points.
Is heaven going to be glorious? Yes!
Is heaven going to be everything you imagined? Yes!
But if you wait and spend the rest of your life, from this moment forward waiting to go to heaven, you totally miss the journey!
God says, “Enjoy the Journey. Let Me take care of the destination.”
So, what are some things we can do to help this happen?
When you make up your time budget, or slot out your day, make sure you schedule yourself in there. You make sure to schedule the people that you want to see in there, the ones who fill your cup. Do not make a list of the “I have to’s….” that destroys the journey.
You can make a separate column for the people and things that you are responsible for and see and slot them in accordingly. But on your list for the journey, the scenic route, they are not there.
When I see a road that I have never been down before, I turn down it. I will go and see where the road goes. I am Enjoying the Journey.
When I meet someone in a coffee shop and start talking to them, I am enjoying the journey. I do not rush in order my “latte”, I want to sit and enjoy the journey and not rush in and rush out and hop back in the car. Do I do that? The sitting down, no, I, me personally, am a rusher in and outer. So I truly miss part of the journey often.
Every time I get into my car and see my “Enjoy the Journey” sign, I realize I am missing it, it is a great reminder. Perhaps all of us should have a “Enjoy the Journey” sign in their car or around the house? You can google air freshener, “Enjoy the journey”. Get one. Get two and pass them around. Help others to start to enjoy the journey as well.
You see, God does not owe you another breath, all your breath belongs to Him. All your heartbeats belong to Him. You belong to Him and He is the one saying, “I want your joy to be full.”
When is our joy full? If I turn off the highway to go down that road I have never been on before I am taking God with me. I tell Him, “We have not been down here before and I want you to come with me, show me what you want me to see. Show me who you want me to talk to." You see it is a journey with God and when you walk closely with Him, your joy is full. He is the only one who can fill your heart so completely that it becomes full.
All those things I already mentioned that we are to put on our time list, well, God is the first one to put on our list. If you made your time budget and God is not on the list, you are going to have a hard time, fitting everything in.
I was talking to a friend yesterday about money. I said, “Brian makes good money, he works all these crazy hours and so yes, he makes a good pay cheque.” Can I tell you and please hear this…. When we honor God with our time and put Him first in our lives, in everything, that even when we made far less money, I found it went so much further.
How?
God is the God of the stretching!
God is the God of the stretching of the good and the bad….He will stretch us to the point of causing us to grow. That is a fantastic thing. He is also the God who stretches your finances and your time. When it looked like there was not even a possibility those finances could go that far, He did it.
I was a single mom for a number of years and I saw finances stretch and miracles happen to money that I could not explain. When you honor God, He stretches.
God fed around 10,000 people with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread! The scripture says 5,000 men besides women and children, there was a heck of a lot of people! (Matthew 14:13-21)
Come on People! He Stretches! He stretches food. He stretches time. He stretches the limits of the possible!
If you say, “you do not have time”, you have already written Him off.
Put Him first, get your “enjoy the journey sign” and tell Him, “Oh God we have not talked today. What do you want me to do today? Where do you want me to go today? How do you want to be involved in my life today? Stretch it God! Stretch our time today so that we can enjoy the journey together."
Come on my readers, I dare you - Enjoy the Journey!