UNDER PRESSURE â—½ ENCOURAGEMENT
The Journey
by Debbie Haynes
Our life journey prepares us for where we’re going. Has that been your experience, or not? Have you ever thought about how you got where you are in life right now? I certainly have. Where I am vastly differs from where I thought I would be. And while setting goals is good, the value is probably more in the journey itself than achieving our goals.
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In business, we are taught to set goals and then to set “stretch” goals. These are things that might be impossible to achieve, but they provide experience and growth as we try. And setting goals gives us a focus and something to strive for. It teaches us where our strengths and weaknesses are, and teaches us things like time management skills and how to pace ourselves so that we cross the finish line strong.
We also know that that things don’t always work out the way we expect them to, despite all of our preparations goals. For example, The Kentucky Derby is something my husband Jim loved to watch. Neither of us knew anything about the rankings or how the betting worked, but we loved learning a little about the magnificent horses and we enjoyed watching them race. I recently watched in disbelief as the overwhelmingly favored horse Fierceness fell astonishingly short of the win and came in 15th place! The rider of the winning horse, Mystik Dan, told his folks when he was 6 years old that he would someday win the Derby. And he did.
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In Matthew and Luke there are two similar stories of the talents given to servants. A master gave different amounts of talents to three men, and they were each given enough to make a profit, if used correctly. The first and second recognized this and saw the value of what they were given, and sought diligently the best way for an increase. But the third servant seemed to be a lazy coward. He just made excuses about not protecting his investment.
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Later in II Corinthians, the writer Paul reminds us to take care of business, despite hardships, pain and suffering. Maybe we’ve been given talents we aren’t really using, or we’re not even establishing our personal relationship with Christ. We can all ask ourselves about the value of our journey. Have we accepted his grace of forgiveness and all the gifts he’s given us? And have we used them well for Him?
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Goals are something we sometimes achieve, and sometimes we might not achieve. However, we can pray and ask for help to use our gifts so that we make and achieve these goals wisely. Our life experiences and the character being developed in each of us, is all part of our journey. Sometimes life turns out like we expect, and sometimes it does not. We, like the horses in the Derby, are in a race. Sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose. But as long as our soul is settled and our name belongs to Him, we are winners with what the Master has entrusted to us and given into our hands.