Why the Trip Was Worth It

This beautiful face:
Who wouldn't willingly and eagerly travel about 2,600 miles to see this smile?

I-40 Philosophy

I'm sure most of you are acquainted with how the road is a metaphor for life -- as in: We travel the road with other passengers, viewing the scenery, taking the occasional detour, etc.

OK, I won't bore you with that tired old saw, but I will relate this experience from the road, which happened more than once: We would be going down the road, moving up a rise in the road, and we'd get to the top and suddenly see the most beautiful landscape. It was so moving that all we could say was, "Wow. Oh my gosh, look at that ... Wow!" And we talked about how awesome God is to create such things.

At one point, I said, "I can't wait to see what's over the next hill." I also said -- actually out loud -- that it was boring to have miles and miles straight ahead where I could see the road and know what was coming and that I would rather be surprised with hills and curves in the road.

Now, the remarkable thing is that I usually -- in my everyday life, I mean -- want to know exactly what's coming. I've even complained that I'm always asking God for the road map so I know what to expect. So to say that I preferred essentially the opposite was quite telling.

And it gives me something interesting to ponder about my basic approach to life.