Arriving

Emerson said, “Life is a journey . . . not a destination.”  (Also quoted recently by Steven Tyler in his autobiography “Does the Noise in My Head Hurt Your Ears?”)

Hemmingway said, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

“We must be willing to stop and smell the roses along the way in life’s journey.” (Unknown).

I’ve heard hundreds of wise quotes like these . . . but none of them connect with me.  I’m all about ARRIVING, and I can’t help it.

I want to GET THERE!

Last week my son and I spent ten hours driving to Myrtle Beach to enjoy vacation time with family.  Then we spent ten hours driving back.  We had some quality father/son conversation, listened to good music, and sampled a couple of audio books.  But, being true men . . . we got everything personal, emotional, and familial talked out in the first hundred miles.

We’re close . . . we’re good . . . we’re caught up . . . our bond is strong . . . we’re done with all girly chit chat.  Let’s just get to Myrtle Beach so that the party can begin!

I am confident that we both enjoyed our time together.  We’re better people now that we have spent so much time enclosed in a small space hurtling at 80 miles an hour down life’s interstate, eating junk food and sipping sodas.  But . . . let’s just get to Myrtle Beach.  That’s where the seafood buffets are.  That’s where everybody is who is waiting for us.  That’s where the beach and the pool and the Ferris Wheel and the good times are.  When we ARRIVE . . . we no longer have to pretend that we’re having a good time . . . we can actually begin having a GOOD TIME!

Back in 1976 when I saw my first Star Trek reruns (I never watched a single episode during its actual run in the 60’s) and saw the technology of the TRANSPORTER . . . I knew that I had witnessed a scientific dream of the ONLY way to travel.  “Beam me up, Scotty!” and then beam me to Myrtle Beach . . . and then beam me back home.  That’s what I’m talking about . . . destinations only . . . a life filled with nothing but ARRIVING!

Now, God knows how I feel about this . . . because I’ve told him (as if I had to).  He has listened patiently and nodded his head sympathetically.  But I know that I’ll never change his mind, his will or his ways.  HE’S all about the journey.

He has told us a little bit about our final destination, and what little we know makes me want to be there NOW.  I believe his promises to his children about the end of our journey, but I cannot adapt to his philosophy of travel.  I don’t WANT to learn anything, I don’t WANT to grow and become mature and wise and deep.  All of that hurts too much.  It takes too long and most of it is unpleasant.

I don’t LIKE the scenic route.  I don’t enjoy the countryside.  I know there’s a beautiful rest stop, but we still have half a tank of gas, only a half full bladder, and a back seat full of snacks . . . let’s GET TO WHERE WE ARE GOING!!

HEAVEN?  Let’s get on with it!  Beam us up!

I don’t advocate self-cancellation of the journey.  (It’s funny that Hemmingway can wax so eloquently about life being a journey and not a destination and then taking a shotgun and blowing his head off.  Well, not funny . . . ).  No, I’m not dispensing Kool Aid or bagging my head to ride the comet.  I’ll walk the journey, I’ll follow the path, I’ll make the trip . . . I just will never be able to enjoy it as much as being THERE.

I’m not being disrespectful to God, or belligerent about his methods.  I’m willing to submit to his plan for my life, but I’ve tried to change, to adjust . . . and I can’t.

Yes, Dorothy, you could have . . . at any time during this entire harrowing movie filled with creepy Munchkins, talking scarecrows, haunted trees, wicked witches, and flying monkeys . . . simply clicked your heels together three times while chanting “There’s no place like home” and you would have been INSTANTLY transported to Aunty Em’s.

If I were Dorothy Gale I would have slapped Glenda so hard it would have made her bubble pop.

To me . . . there’s no place like home.  There’s no place like where I want to be.

I know . . . nobody wants to watch a movie about a girl from Kansas who gets blown by a tornado to a strange place over the rainbow who immediately finds magic slippers that can transport her magically back to Kansas!  I WANT the yellow brick road . . . for Dorothy . . . but I DON’T want the yellow brick road for ME!

If there is a shortcut – tell me about it.  If there is a cutoff – I want the option of taking it.  If there is a wormhole or an intersection between galactic planes through which I can travel – I want to take it.  THERE is what matters most to me.  THERE is where I’m going.  THERE is where the party is.

I realize that I am flawed.  I see that this is a shortcoming.  I have applied myself with great determination to change my nature over the years, but I have failed.

Terri hates watching television with me.

Nearly everything that we watch together was recorded earlier on the DVR.

I can watch a two-hour movie in thirty minutes using the fast-forward feature on the remote control.  I can watch a one-hour network show in a little over fifteen minutes.  I never watch commercials, promos, or lead-ins.   I get everything that I need from each show.  At the end of the program I am completely satisfied and entertained. 

What I hate is having to watch any show or movie in REAL TIME because it is all so predictable.  I know what the actor is going to say, what he is going to do next, who done it and how the show is going to end.  I’m not omniscient . . . today’s writers are just not very talented . . . and there really IS nothing new under the sun.  I can scan through a movie or a show or a book at warp speed . . . and all I need to pick up on is the little bits and pieces that I DIDN’T guess or deduce.

I never read the last chapter first . . . but I don’t have to read every single word in the book to get to the ending.

Let’s get to the ending.  (As the Apostle John said in Revelation 22, “Come, Lord Jesus!”)

Father, you’ve asked us over and over again if we love you . . . you know that we do, and we’ve tried diligently to feed your sheep and your lambs to prove it.  You’ve tested us and tried us . . . some we passed and others we failed.  You’ve sent us through the flood and through the fire, we’ve been on the cross, on the stake, and in the arena.  You’ve asked us to be in the world but not of the world . . . but frankly (and reverently) I’m ready to get out of this world.

Let’s get to the ending.

I’ve had enough journey.  Beam me up.  I’m ready to ARRIVE.
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