The Journey is the Destination

I found this quote in college while combing the shelves at Borders. I had more time then and so I would wander around looking for things to inspire and teach me things. I ran across this picture book by Dan Eldon. I think he would have been a kindred spirit. He liked lists. His book is full of them. And he loved stories, adventure and his friends who went along with him. He grew up in Africa and spent his youth traveling around the countryside learning about life in the bush. He decided to be a reporter and was sent to Mogadishu to cover the civil war in Somalia. He ended up getting himself killed there, but left us some really great stories (and lists!) to remember him by.

Kerry knew I liked this quote and so when we moved in at the Barclay House she wrote it on the wall in our room. Lots of life happened with those words hanging over our heads. We grew up. We stressed out. We learned how to cook for lots of people. We helped each other discover our passions and helped each other grieve. We watched a lot of West Wing. We dealt with abuse and life not shaping up to be what we thought it would be. We laughed, hard and walked to school every day. We made our first attempts at loving our friends like the grown-ups we were trying to be. We learned from some amazing women that we were blessed to know. (told you I like lists!)

In some ways I think I've lived my whole life under those words. As I watch 30 quickly approaching I'm thinking about what I want to be when I grow up. I'm weighing the job options and the location options. Who I want to be with and where I don't want to live. I seem to want to make myself arrive somewhere. Part of me just wants to get there, do a job, make a home, stop being so self-critical, live without fear of rejection. I just want to get there, wherever there might be. Problem is...where the heck is "there?" I'm not really sure we ever arrive until we see God's face before us at the end of our lives. So, the journey goes on.

In the midst of all my pros and cons lists when it comes to my future, I've been thinking about my journey. I've been thinking about my passions. Honestly what keeps me up at night, what I lay awake thinking about is story. The story of my life and those I love and those of folks  like Dan Eldon, who have lived life well, to the fullest no matter where it led (Ok, if I were truly honest, I really hope life doesn't lead me to an early death in Somalia but I guess you never know...). So, I've decided to tell some of those stories here. It is more for me to process life, but maybe you'll relate in some way. Or maybe you'll have a story that you are more than welcome to tell here. Or maybe my mom will be the only one who reads this thing. Whatever.......