Eventually I stopped, and just sat on top of my car looking at the majesty plastered perfectly on every square inch of the night sky. As I rested there in the beautiful silence, I recalled conversations and moments I had from the weekend freshly behind me.
The most confirmation I could ever need for moving to Colorado took place when I found out that the same family I was supposed to live with in Uganda, were moving to the same area in the same time I was. The Williams family will change your life in just one day of spending time with them. The way they live, the way they love, the way they parent, and the way they do family. And in that moment I knew God was up to something. My plan was to do life with them in Uganda, but God's was to bring us together here in America instead.
As I lay on the trunk of my scratched up yet faithful Honda, I couldn't stop thinking of this particular conversation I had earlier that day with Mommy of soon-to-be 8, Kristi:
I asked her how she was so good at just BEING where she was and not striving for the next phase of her future. She let out a loud laugh and rather than answering the question, she gave a statement: "I don't think God moves us into the next phase until we are content with where He's placed us now."
Whoah.
I had heard something like that before, but this time it hit me differently. I understood it. How easy it is for us to be discontent and wonder how/when/where God will finally take us to where we want to be-- to wonder why we are still here-- still there-- still stuck-- still wrestling-- still located where we least want to be-- still without answers.
We forget to embrace EVERY part of the journey because we are so focused on getting to our destination. But that is exactly how we miss out on endless adventure, incredible opportunities, lessons to learn, relationships to be had, unlocked joy to find, and so much beauty to be seen. Rather than viewing interruptions and detours in the road as just that, we ought to see them as part of the plan to better get us where we're going.
God is not limited by anything; He does His best work in messes, roadblocks, and hopeless situations. The road is inevitable to get you from where you are to where you want to go. On a long road trip, sometimes there's 5 MPH traffic, sometimes you get a flat tire, sometimes there are gas station stops to fill up your tank or empty your bladder, sometimes you get lost, sometimes you get pulled over, and sometimes you can stop and stargaze.
It's really all about your perspective; because unless you want to stay in the same place your entire life, you have to be on a road. You can choose to see every stop as an inconvenience, or choose to see it as a new beginning for opportunity. In the cheesiness of the analogy, we all are on our own road trips through life. We all want to end up somewhere. This could be what you consider "success". But I think the secret to being happy is embracing where you are, rather than getting lost in where you wish you were.
As I stared in awe at the massive sky above my tiny car, something inside me changed, and I let go of needing to know the next phase; because that phase wasn't here yet. THIS one is here. And surely if God led me into it, He has a purpose for it. And you know what found me after that small moment of surrender?
PEACE. Rest rather than worry.
Joy. The kind that makes you laugh out loud all by yourself.
Contentment. Anxious to see God move where He had me rather than anxious to move me.
I crawled back into my car the fun way through my sunroof and laughed out loud as I realized the exact scenario I had found myself in on the way home was the exact situation of my life... all too hesitant to stop and enjoy the road I was on because I just wanted to get where I was going.
But the journey teaches us about our destination. Often where we THINK we should be is different from where we were made to be. And the only way to show us where we are MEANT to be is by taking hold of every part of the journey. If we don't embrace where we are, we will never find what we're looking for. Because here we discover what we love, what we hate, what makes us laugh, what makes us cry, what we are eager to find, what we are willing to stop for, what we are willing to fight for, what terrifies us, what brings us joy, what makes us struggle, who we really are, and who we need to know.
The journey is a constant re-direction to our actual purpose. Never what we expect in the beginning, but better than we could ever imagine in the end.
Wherever God has placed you right now, BE all there. Give it your everything. Be b r a v e in the small stuff and the big stuff. Let your heart sing "It is well" wherever you find yourself. Because our purpose is never dependent on circumstance. It is constant everywhere-- whether in a gas station or on the side of the road or in bumper-to-bumper traffic or at work or at school or at home, my purpose never changes:
To shine, to love, and to breathe back the same hope & life first breathed into me.
-Han
One of the most beautiful places I have ever driven through. Independence Pass!
Beautiful and freckle-blessed Kristi who looks AMAZING pregnant with child EIGHT.
Selfie session with Selah who is the sweetest yet also the strangest ;) We connect well because of that.
Chuka experiencing SNOW for the first time ever on top of a mountain! He loved it until his little feet were covered in the icy flakes-- then he hated it haha.
Check out the Williams family blog! www.williamsinthewilderness.com
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