En route

I am arrival-obsessed.

I keep thinking that once this is over, once that happens, once that drama ends, once that project is completed, once I lose that weight, once I get that perfect career, everything will be great.

My if-then mentality keeps me frozen in a perpetual holding pattern, eagerly awaiting something amazing to happen when I get "there" (wherever that is).

This angsty anticipation reminds me of a flight I took a few months ago.

I was anxious to get to my destination, so I stared at my phone like an obsessed traffic controller, refreshing it over and over to track our arrival time.

Finally, the pilot announced we were beginning our descent.

As we circled (and circled) and waited (and waited) for the wheels to touch the ground, I plastered my face to the window, and my annoyance grew as it took forever to land.

Then, when we finally did land, I was the silly person who stood up as soon as possible, contorting my neck as I hunched beneath the overhead compartment, waiting for that magical door to open and for people to - ever so slowly - grab their belongings and make their way out.

Then, when I finally did get out and made my way through the walkway and into the gate, there was no hoopla, no arrival party, just the slow walk to the baggage claim to stand and wait once again, filled with regret that I didn't just carry my luggage on the flight.

As I waited with my other annoyed travelers, my mind shifted to the next place, and I began eagerly awaiting that new arrival.

And so on and so on and so on.

I am just consistently "then" focused.

It's natural to want to get somewhere amazing or to feel the satisfaction of completing a project.

It's also natural to want the storms to pass, the drama to subside, the pain to disappear, and the healing to come.

It's totally natural to plead with child-like eagerness and impatience, "ARE WE THERE YET?"

However, continually focusing on the arrival prevents us from experiencing the joy of the journey or learning the lessons in the waiting.

Staying present while en route allows us to see, hear, and feel what God is teaching us on the journey from here to there.

If we keep waiting for the arrival, we will miss the beauty of the journey.

So, sit back, rest, stop the obsessive arrival tracking, and enjoy the ride.

Be present and see what God is teaching you and how you can find joy in the journey.

Allow yourself to trust God - the pilot who knows where you are going and when you will get there.

And hey, maybe there will be some good snacks we can enjoy until then.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Romans 12:12

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Isaiah 40: 30-31

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.