Blog

Feb 16, 2025 06:00am

The Journey

227 Views

Family road trips these days can become pretty quiet. Each person can have his/her own entertainment, often with headphones or earbuds, so no person’s entertainment overlaps any other person’s. This is very different than it was when I was young.

While I appreciate the time this allows me to retreat or just talk to my husband, part of me longs for the days when we all played games or sang songs as a family, to entertain ourselves on the road.

It is this very difference that I believe created an environment where my husband and I actually started dating, many moons ago.

It was the summer of ‘96, long before ipads or smartphones, and our youth group went to the Olympics in Atlanta. We were on mission to share the gospel around the arena area. As we were getting on the bus to head out, a mutual friend made sure that my (now) husband and I sat with each other. Who knows what might’ve happened, if she had chosen to ignore that thought?!

We sat next to each other for the almost 800 mile round trip, and I don’t think my mouth stopped moving. Somehow, this did not scare him away. We got to know each other really well over the trip to Georgia and back. We told each other interesting things about our lives, embarrassing things that had happened that made us giggle, and even talked about things that we hoped would happen in the future.

As I was reading in Genesis 22-24 this week, I was reminded that God asked His people to walk with Him through some pivotal moments in their lives. He could have just told them what to do, but instead, He wanted them to take that journey with Him.

God told Abraham to take his son Isaac to the land of Moriah and offer him as an offering on a mountain that He would tell him about when he got there. Abraham was obedient. The commentary I read that went with this passage said that Abe knew that God would either save his son from being killed on that altar or resurrect him. He had complete faith that God would do what He promised, and God had said He would make Abraham the father of many through his son, Isaac. He trusted that whatever God asked of him would not deter the plans He already revealed.

Later in my reading, I read about how Abraham sent a servant to his homeland to find a wife for Isaac. He wanted to make sure Isaac had a wife who worshiped God, not a wife from Canaan, where they were living at the time. The servant went to find the young woman who would marry Isaac, with only a prayer to guide him. God answered his prayer, and He brought Rebekah to the servant before he could even finish praying.

God knew Abraham’s heart without having to see him go through the excruciating 3 day journey to the mountain. He didn’t need to see Abraham follow through with His request to offer Isaac on an altar.

God could have brought Isaac and Rebekah together however He chose. His will did not rely on the servant making a long journey and seeking God’s will in it.

In both of these circumstances, and in many more, God shows us, through His Word, that He wants to journey with us. He could just tell us what to do. He could just give us instructions and let that be that. He desires a more intimate relationship, though. He wants to have a walk with us as we get to the place to which He is leading us.

My husband and I could have met any number of ways, but God chose to allow us to begin with an 800 mile journey that created the intimacy only such an opportunity could bring. What could we not know about each other after that?!

While it is sometimes difficult for us to journey through the twists and turns of life, not knowing where God might be taking us in some of the most challenging moments, we can trust that He is with us in that journey. We can trust that where He is leading us, and allowing us to make that journey WITH Him is worth the ride!