The Journey

A few weeks ago I left home around 10:30 am on a Thursday morning and met Travis in Meridianville so that we could make a long drive to Myrtle Beach. Several months ago we were invited by Steven Guy to do a Mental Health workshop for the congregation he preaches for — Myrtle Beach Church of Christ. It was a long 11 or so hour drive through three states.  

So, it was definitely a long day. But a good day. We enjoyed a birthday lunch with Travis’ son before we left Meridianville. These road trips with my oldest best friend (we are cousins with around 9 months separating us) are always entertaining. Lots of great music, fun stories, Bible discussions, and maybe some talk therapy for each of us. 

At some point en route I realized we would be going very close to where Barbara Strange, a sweet lady that attended where I preach (and still attends via livestream) lives in Georgia so we dropped in. She loves her Highland Park family and made sure we knew she watched every service. She continues to recover at rehab from a recent break but hopes to be able to return to assist living at some point. It was a short but heartwarming visit. She’s always been an amazing encourager to me. Also along our day’s journey we received word that a couple of very sweet ladies had completed their earthly journeys and had gone home to be with the Lord. One was a dear member at our congregation and another was the mother of our good friend Pam Lenz. 

That full day of traveling to South Carolina was quite the microcosm of life. Celebrating a child’s birthday, talking about life, enjoying fun moments, a visit to a nursing home, and hearing of the final journey to an eternal home includes so many of the phases of life all in one day. And life, just like today, can seem like such a long journey in some ways, and a surprisingly short journey in other ways. As a kid it seemed like life travelled at the speed of slow. The older I get it all seems like life is traveling at the speed of a bullet train. 

The wonderful part of life is that while we grow weary physically, our inner man continues to be renewed and the struggles we face will result in an eternal glory far beyond comparison (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Just soak in the moments. There are hard ones, no doubt. But the journey comes with so many blessings as well. 

Thank you for being one of those blessings for us. 

Ben