Monday, November 15, 2021

I Just Want to Enjoy The Ride



Life is a journey. And the saying goes, “I just want to enjoy the ride.” 


That’s true - to a degree. Life is such a gift to us. It is here for our enjoyment. The travel, the celebrations, the restaurants, the concerts, the fun photos we take….. all of it.


But there is so much more to life, than just “enjoying the ride.”


When I’m 80, I don’t want to look back at my life and simply see how many plane rides I took, or many shows I attended. I want to see how many relationships I built, and how many lives I was able to invest in.


Life is about relationships.


It’s about sitting up at 2 in the morning and holding a friend who is in the grips of grief. 


It’s about feeding those who are hungry. 


It’s about offering that empty room in our house to someone who needs some “love time” and can get it nowhere else.


It’s about standing up for the person no one else will stand up for.


It’s about our children watching and learning from us as we kneel in prayer, are honest when we think no one is watching, are generous with our money, and investing our lives into others.


It’s about people. 


Life is about hugs. Embraces. A shared laugh. A phone call after 20 years. A tired body and soul that gives up its days for ministry.


Contrary to what we are told in life, it’s not about doing what’s right for ourselves. It’s knowing who we are, and being right with ourselves ,and throwing ourselves into doing, loving, and investing into OTHERS.


Others.


That is the real journey. The real ride.