There is a joy in the journey. A light we can love on the way. There is a wildness and wonder in life.
I have had a different spirit about me as we have travelled far from our home in Orlando to Sydney, Australia. Past journeys have been marked by my attitude of "just get there." Survival.
We began our travel on Wednesday, January 11, at 1:00pm from Orlando International Airport. And we had a destination... First, Los Angeles, on a 5-hour flight.
We spent our seven hour layover at Santa Monica Beach, taking in a hot pink, soul-reviving sunset which sent us off on our 15-hour flight to Sydney, our final destination.
It departed at 10pm, which for our east coast-oriented bodies was 1am, arriving to Sydney time on Friday morning at 8am, challenging us to a full day of living before laying our weary heads on unfamiliar pillows for a fitful night of disoriented sleep for children and parents alike.
So we had a destination, but it was a journey like no other I have ever been on before. The destination is lovely. The arrival time is our preference. The preparations have been made for the purpose of a smooth, timely trip.
But really none of that is important. There is no negative impact if all plans fail.
No worries if our flight is delayed or cancelled. We'll just wait for the next one.
No problem if children do not adjust to new time zone.
We do not have to be sharp for work tomorrow morning. We have time to work through the fatigue.
What's the point of the trip if not the destination?
People.
The journey is about the people.
The children, five of them, including a newborn who often requires much more of me than I care to give. It's about the man God gave me to do life with.
To journey with.
This journey is about the journey.
It is about being right where I am.
Doing just what I'm doing.
Being with the ones God gave me.
We read a John Steinbeck quote in the newspaper on the long flight to Australia:
A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.
Tim and I are on a journey in our marriage.
A journey with our children.
A journey in learning who God designed us to be, in learning how to love.
And we are learning not to be in control, but to rest.
Because the destination is not important.
Knowing that changes everything.
All of a sudden, the only thing that matters is now.
Being where I am. Loving the ones I'm with.
This moment is no less important than the next.
So live in it.
