journey

I had an epiphany last week...

Dave and I were driving back to my house and I turned down a certain street.

Dave said, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going the shortcut", I said.

"This is a shortcut?" he said, "you have to go through all these stop signs."

I then declared, "Well, what about all those street lights and traffic on your 'shortcut'? This is the fastest way!"

 

A few days later we were riding with my parents on the way back home and my dad turned down a different street.

Mom said, "I just don't understand why you go this way...the speed limit is lower and there are all these speed bumps!"

Dad replied, "Well, I don't understand why you go the other way, this is definitely faster...there's no traffic."

"I go through the lights on the main road and I think it's the fastest," Dave said.

I joined in and said, "Yeah, our (mom & I) way is definitely the fastest, but go the way you wanna go...we'll just be home faster!" ;)

 

It reminds me of picking a route on a gps.

 

Because of these discussions about who's way is better, I realized that it can be likened to our faith journeys, as well as life in general. We can't expect for everyone to go the same way as we do. Some people may need to sit at a stop light for a little while, while a slower speed may be better for others. It's okay for that one person to wrestle with the many questions about God and it's okay that another person may put their faith in Christ quickly. It's okay that one person may have read the whole Bible in one year and it's okay that another person may need ten years to read the Bible. It's okay that one person may have experienced their first mission trip at the age of 15 and it's okay that another person went on their first mission trip at the age of 70.

 

Everyone is different. We all have different ways to learn, different experiences, and different personalities. So of course, our walk with Christ may be different than others. We can't expect for everyone to follow in your footsteps of 24 years of Sunday School, 5 mission trips, and 3 times of reading the whole Bible all the way through. If we all had the same faith journey, I think that would be boring. We should focus on our similarities, learn from our differences and respect our unique experiences.

 

We should never look at another person's journey and feel inferior or superior. Reminding ourselves that our journey is just as good as everyone else's. Just like my route works for me, but my dad's route works for him.

Maybe I should have ended the conversation with my family by saying...

"It's okay that we all go different routes, at least we all end up at the same place."

That's all that matters, right? 

 

 

Bible Reading Plan

Today: Isaiah 59-63

Tuesday: Isaiah 64-66

Wednesday: Jeremiah 1-3

Thursday: Jeremiah 4-6

Friday: Jeremiah 7-9

Saturday: Jeremiah 10-13