Life’s experiences can have some long roads. Very long roads. And our current COVID days remind us of this. For me, such times can lead to being discouraged or just plain tired. What can we do to keep going on the “long roads”?
Hiking and Roads
I enjoy hiking and see many illustrations of life. Probably because of the exercise as well as quite a bit of time to think. Sometimes too much on the long roads.
As part of long trails, there are connecting routes where we spend a lot of time on roads rather than the trails. Straightaways are the worst. You come upon them at a turn or over a hill — only to see that you can catch every inch of your next hour or more of walking.
When that happens what are the options?
Stop.
Just like hiking, our long-term picture of our lives is helped by a stop.
What do stops look like?
On a hike, it is stopping for some rest and an reenergizing snack. In life, it could be Friday as a marker of the end of a workweek where you can set things aside for a couple days. Sabbath provides a time to step away from regular rhythms and step toward God in fresh ways. New year’s reflections offer an oasis between years. A retreat puts you in places to listen to God or the people in your life. Such moments offer some long-term perspective to the “tyranny of the urgent” that is felt. The anxiety that grips us in the hard moments.
In such moments, we can look back over the road we’ve traveled.
- We see that this is not the first time of trial.
- We see just how far we have come.
- We can look “down the road” and begin to look forward to the thrill of the reward at the end, whether ice cream or a beautiful view on a hike or, in the bigger picture, the reward of being in God’s peace and presence.
Part of this boots-on-the-ground advice is what is known as wisdom. In Hebrew thought, wisdom is a very tangible concept, not just one of conceptual or theoretical thinking.
- It’s not just knowing. It’s acting.
- It’s not just right thoughts or intentions. It’s right living.
But the truth is, that wisdom comes from the long road. It is not free. At times, it costs years and experience. It is in our successes…but especially in our failings.
Lasting the Long Haul
“At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and body are spent. You will say, ‘How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!'” – Proverbs 5:11-12
These are convicting words but I encourage you to hear them as a loving warning on your long road. Living wisdom now is hard, but not impossible. It is taking the “long view” on your life. To look down the road and realize challenges will come. (And it’s not just an “if”.) So here are a couple practical ideas to enter into with prayer.
- Pause and review your life. In the everyday, are these the actions and people that looking 10 years down the road of decades (yeah, one pun today), you will be glad you chose to live? (We hope to share some resources on this as we continue on this journey so let me know what is helpful!)
- Practice a regular Sabbath day, whether per week or month or even farther out. Just get started from where you are and what you can do. Step back. Don’t fill the time but rest in the thought that God loves you. That Jesus’ very coming expresses a God who pursues you by becoming like you. And, yes, He does know you personally. And God will refresh you in what time you give. So begin a new habit or rhythm.
The roads are long.
And can appear even longer on the straightaways.
But God walks with you in the everyday things. Let’s help remind one another of this, whether in-person for coffee or in the comments section.
Nothing is wasted.
