Enjoy the journey!

I had a great day yesterday! I had the privilege of spending the entire day with my daughter. Since she has gone to college my time alone with her has been limited. When she and Christopher were young and I was working the odd shifts, it was hard to make time then because of their school schedule and my work schedule. In the earlier days, they would wait up at night and I would be able to read to them for a little while and then always pray with them. Even if I had gotten home late and they were already asleep, I would quietly sneak into their rooms and pray for them. I continued to pray for them daily through High School. Paige and I would help with their projects go to every volleyball, basketball, and soccer game, band or choir concert, or other event. As crazy as my schedule was, I enjoyed every minute of just being around my kids.

Those of you who know me, know I am an extremely driven person. I want every person to know their call and their relationship with the Lord. I want to see the Kingdom of God advanced. It is my passion. How does that fit in with having a great day with my daughter? In God’s plan and purpose these things are intimately intertwined. It would be extremely easy to focus on one more than the other but as long as I keep my focus right God has a way of making it all work. Look at these scriptures.

Matthew 6: 25, 34

25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


The leader, Pastor, mentor part of me is always driven to high and lofty goals and pursuits. I am always looking toward tomorrow and what I can accomplish for the long hall. However, the husband, Father, friend, part of me is always longing for the moment-by-moment relationships, the things that make life rich. What I learned along l time ago and am constantly learning anew, is the value of relationships especially those with my children, no matter how old they are. These are the daily things that are the value of the journey of life. God wants me to accomplish the great and lofty pursuits. He has given them to me to fulfill but if I pursue them to the exclusion or to the hurt of the gifts He has given me in my wife and children, then I have simply missed His point.

Paul writes in describing qualifications for leadership in the church. A leader must be a leader in his own household, guiding, valuing, and showing love to his own family. One who knows how to do that will be able to lead the church but if he can’t do that in his own home he will be a failure as a leader in the church.

I think that I do a fairly decent job as a leader. I know I am not perfect but I see results that confirm to me that I am somewhat successful. It is not always so easy in your own family. As I alluded to earlier, I can be so driven by the future that I miss the value of the day-to-day. Spending that time with Amanda, I was able to hear some of her heart, to get a better understanding of the way she thinks, to watch the way that she handles herself. As a leader, it is natural for me to get value from what I do, but what God wants is for me to get my value from being His son.

It would have been easy for me to get caught up in my pursuits, as high, lofty, and spiritual as they were and are. The challenge to focus on what is at hand, to not worry about tomorrow that today and the relationships that God has brought into my life, are the important things. They are to help the “high and lofty” goals giving me a foundation on which to stand. It was worth it to spend those years praying. It was worth it to go to all the various events. It was worth it to spend the time reading.

Yesterday reminded me; the foundation is strong. She has turned out to be an amazing young woman. I fought to not be so focused on the future but to enjoy the journey. As I take care of today, keeping in mind tomorrow, but not to the exclusion the journey itself, God fulfills His plan and purpose for me in the dailiness and gives me renewed vision, that He will fulfill for my tomorrow.

I am sharing this story with you so you might take time to enjoy the journey. Keep a focus on the future, but don’t miss the moments. No matter how long you have been married or how old your children are make time for the moments. If your children are young, the sacrifices that you may seem to make from your agenda are really not sacrifices at all; they are merely building blocks on the journey.

I hope this rambling today makes some sense to you!