Growing up in Southern California, I have always had access to water. Water is my happy place. I go there to be refreshed and I go there to have fun. Living almost an entire month without water being a part of my natural surroundings is very strange and also very difficult. So, when I heard that there was a river within walking distance I immediately knew that was a place I wanted to go.
I sought out directions (which were verbally given by my squad leader, Jake) and invited some friends along for the journey. I was ready to go find some water. I was ready to go to my happy place and have fun.
The journey however, did not unfold the way I had intended it too.
When I had received my directions, I was given details like, “it’s the street on the left, past the big house that looks out of place, but before the gas station.” Or, “when you get to the fork in the road go to the right.” These directions were not the most specific. In fact depending on what you defined as the “big house that looks out of place” they were very open to interpretation. They were not set in stone and they were certainly not given by Google maps. The entire time I was walking I was questioning if I was even going the right way. “Is this the fork in the road he was talking about?” “Is this the big house that looks out of place?” “How far down did he say that turn was?” I couldn’t help it. I had brought people with me, and if I got lost, they would get lost. How could I be responsible for that?
It was also much colder and windier than I was prepared for. Once again, me being the Southern California girl that I am, anything below 70 degrees and sunny is quite frigid. So, this 40 degrees stuff and a wind chill that made it feel like it was about freezing was not my cup of tea.
The walk also took a lot longer than I had expected. I was prepared to be gone for a total of about an hour and a half, there and back. Go after breakfast, be back before lunch. Sounds like a good plan. But, that is not what happened. Instead my hour and a half journey turned into an hour walk one way
“This river better be worth it!” This was the only thought in my head.
As we walked down the road with open fields on either side of us, I saw it. I saw the familiar glisten of sunlight hitting water. We made it!
We take a few moments to celebrate, take a couple selfies and continue on to get the best view we can find.
We climb a little hill to reach the reservoir and there on the other side is one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in a long time. I sit beneath the warm sun and listen to the sound of the water rippling against the wall while staring at the horizon of fall colored trees.
Mmmm… my happy place. This was worth it!
As I was sitting there enjoying this moment, I couldn’t’ help but reflect on the journey I just had. I couldn’t help but recognize so many similarities between this journey and my own walk with the Lord.
How often does the Lord give us directions that seem to be open to interpretation or somewhat mysterious? How often does he just tell us to go “right at the fork in the road” and just trust that it will lead us to where we need to go?
How often does the Lord send us on a journey that we feel ill-equipped and unprepared for? How often does our journey take much longer than we expected? How often do we question if it will even be worth it in the end?
I know for me personally, the answer to most of these questions is more frequent than I would like to admit. I don’t want that to be the answer to these questions. And I am believing that the farther along I go on this adventure with Jesus the sooner those answer will change. When I hear those questions, I want to be quicker to respond with confidence in who Jesus is in my life.
Confidence that Jesus knows how to get me to where I need to be and that his directions and guidance are sufficient enough. I want to answer with confidence that even though I may be unprepared or feel unequipped for the journey, Jesus is always there to equip me. I want to be confident that no matter how long it takes I will get to where I am supposed to be. And I permanently want to answer, yes. Jesus is always worth it!
