One Man's Journey (With a Purpose)

"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." -- Greg Anderson, bestselling American author and founder of the American Wellness Project

"The road of life twists and turns, and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination." -- Don Williams Jr., American author and poet


The quotes above will be music to my wife's ears. For the more than 17 years we have been married, she has been telling me that I need to change my "destination thinking."

"Relax! Just enjoy the journey," she often says, in a variety of ways. My usual reaction: "Whatever, eternal optimist! Enjoy your own journey; I just want to get there already."

But now that I have entered the second third of my life (I'm 40 now; you do the math), I have to admit that she's right. Focusing on the destination is still important, of course. Otherwise, how would anything ever get done?

Which is why I titled this blog "One Man's Journey (With a Purpose)." My purpose, I have come to believe, is to serve God in any way he leads me. (On my computer monitor at work I have this quote from the prophet Mohammad taped up: "A person's true wealth is the good he or she does in the world.")

But constantly worrying about nothing but the outcome only leads to gray hairs and high blood pressure. Plus, if I don't stop to smell the flowers from time to time, I'm likely to miss a lot of important moments in life:

My son's smile when he makes a good soccer play or congratulates an opposing team's player on his good play.

My daughter's laughter as she quotes Jim Gaffigan or Jeff Dunham for the millionth time or pokes fun at her dear old Dad just to get a reaction from him.

Quiet conversation during a "date night" with my wife, just the two of us going to dinner and a movie together.

Reflective time with God, immersed in his holy Word, taking it to heart and applying it to my life.

Which is the main reason for starting this blog. As we enter the season of Lent, we're called to give up something as a reminder of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our sins. But this Lenten season, I took a challenge from a pastor in Denver to add something, as well. I'm giving up fast food (see the next blog entry, which I originally wrote yesterday, Ash Wednesday) and adding daily spiritual reflection.

It's my hope that this blog will serve as a way to reflect on those small steps in the remainder of my life's journey. After Lent, they may just be occasional reflections, rather than daily, but they'll be no less important. After all, it's about the journey, not the destination.

"To get through the hardest journey, we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping." -- Chinese proverb