Today I sit and watch President and First-Lady Trump entering and exiting their cars. Out going President and First-Lady Obama will vacate one home and head to their next home. Each family has a certain destination ordained for them at the end of the day. Black armored cars escort them to their final destination. Road blocks are set all along the highways and byways of the paths they take as they travel to and fro. Every one is “On the Way” somewhere. Washington DC is pulsing with energy. The frenzied pace has law enforcement on high alert. There is a flurry of motion with everyone scurrying to their objectives. At the end of the day both the incoming President and the outgoing President will fall exhausted into a new bed.
I find myself “On the Way” to many destinations through out my week. Sometimes I find my route has been diverted to another road. It is quite annoying. Sheridan, the street I take to travel to church is under construction between 91st and 81st. It is one way heading north. That’s okay on the way but coming home I invariably forget and find myself re-routing to Memorial which is the most travelled road in the city. On the way to my mom’s I just can’t get it into my head that 111th and Mingo is closed due to construction. Really someone needs to put up a detour sign before you ever travel east on 111th. Yesterday was my third time to make a u-turn and find a new route to mom’s. Uuuuuuugh!
Is not that the summation of this life journey we are on? We ask each other, “Where are you headed?” Our paths are blocked by interruptions and detours. We are chasing one adventure after another seeking contentment and happiness in our busyness, but in reality all we are doing is running in circles and making ourselves exhausted.
“You direct me on the path that leads to a beautiful life. As I walk with You the pleasures are never-ending, and I know true joy and contentment.” Psalm 16:11 Voice Translation.
A beautiful life. A satisfied life. Isn’t that what we are all striving for? Some of us feel the need to scale the highest mountains on this quest. Other’s find contentment in the sanctity of places we call home. The Psalmist found the path to this mystery. “As I walk with You,” he writes. When we choose to keep company with Jesus, we find true contentment and joy and that beautiful life where the pleasures are never-ending.
“As I walk with You,” those words echo in my thoughts as I write word after word in my new book, “On the way.” So many people walked side by side with Jesus when He travelled this earth. His days were filled with interruptions and u-turns as He paused to minister to those who need His touch. Many found that beautiful, satisfied life the Psalmist described. Day after day as I click away on my computer keyboard, I find myself in the crowds of people who followed Him through Judea, Samaria, and up the Temple steps time after time. Jesus blazed a path through the thorny rocky roads of Israel. He made a highway to the City of our God. He trudged up the Via Delarosa, the way of the cross, bloodied and broken. “Up the hill” called Golgotha and into a rich man’s grave were His steps, but He rose victorious to leave an empty tomb in His wake. These are the truths I have found “On the Way” to complete the second book in my 40 day series.
I have come upon a warning sign looming at the side of this street I am on. “Slow Down,” it is a warning ⚠️. “Men at work.” God has slowed my path of completion. He wants me to enjoy the ride. My publisher, Beth Wilson of Hear My Heart Publishing, and I have determined to postpone the release date. I feel I wasn’t quite grasping the lessons the Lord needs me to learn on this section of the journey. He was the One at work on my road construction.
“On the Way” will be released next December. “Through Their Eyes” will be re-released next November in an updated version. “On the Way” will begin where “Through Their Eyes” left off.
Simply stated, I am chasing Eternity. “God has planted eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11.
I hope you join me on the second leg of this journey.