The Hardest Part of Every Journey

Every summer countless families plan a big road trip. Some go to the beach. Some go to Disney World. Some head out west. Some plan to spend a week or so with family. Whatever the reason, the trip is always exciting.

The morning of departure, there is always excitment in the air. Everybody wants to go. Everybody is ready to begin. Everybody can anticipate what will happen once they arrive.

Last minute items are shoved into luggage already too full. Each suitcase is placed in the car only to be taken out and repositioned in an effort to find a way to make everything fit. The back of the van becomes a jigsaw puzzle. There are infinite possibilites of how to try to piece the different pieces of luggage together, but only one real solution.

Every climbs into the car, goldfish in hand. Seat belts are fastened. Movies are started. And the journey begins.

photo by Jessica Lucia (creative commons license)

Of course we all know what happens soon, right? Children eventually become bored. Movies are not as entertaining the second time around. The car starts getting hot and people start getting on each others nerves.

It seems that in the middle of the trip, everybody forgets the excitement they started with.

The hardest part of a long road trip isn’t packing suitcases or loading the car or convincing everyone to get in the car. And it certainly isn’t the desire to be at the desination. The hardest part of any long journey is the middle..

What happens when the road gets a little rough to navigate and it is full of potholes? We want to quit.

What happens when we are tired and hungry and almost out of gas? We want to give up.

What happens when we make a wrong turn and realize we are lost? We become frightened and wish we had stayed at home.

What happens when we run out of goldifsh?

Our biggest problem is not having enough desire at the beginning of the journey. Our biggest problem is not setting out on a journey worth embarking on.

The hardest part of our story is choosing to persist once that journey becomes difficult.