On Sunday, my beautiful, kind, brilliant, compassionate granddaughter, Lauren, graduated from high school. And as I sat in the bleachers watching over seven hundred seniors walk down the aisle and up to the stage, a wave of nostalgia washed over me, remembering the past seventeen years, the overflowing joy and love.
I’ve been incredibly blessed to have my grandchildren live near me; many don’t have that gift. We’ve shared life experiences since Lauren was born. I am so grateful to watch her life unfold as she moves on and forward, making a difference in our hurting world and, later this year, traveling abroad and seeing life through different lenses.
Our journeys are different, despite what often seems like a lot of sameness. Some of us had rough starts, while others have had completely bliss-filled lives (perhaps that’s just a surface illusion).
Sometimes, we merely “go through the motions” in our day-to-day lives; our routines take us from point A—when we get up until point Z—when we end the day. How often are our hours spent simply “moving through,” oblivious of what we’re doing and heedless of where we’re heading, not unlike driving to and from work the same way every day, utterly incognizant as if we’re on perpetual autopilot? We may even wake up on Sunday morning, thinking, “How did I spend last week?”
Pondering how I’ll achieve my goals or accomplish something (some days anything), I’ve become aware that I end up on one of four different paths.
Path 1: My road is direct and easily navigable, a straight line from beginning to end. I set out on the journey—no obstacles blocking my way—confident I’ll arrive as planned, feeling pretty good about “getting the job done.”
Path 2: I know exactly where I’m going, but there are some curves along the way. I’ll still arrive at the finish line, but I choose to slow down and take in some scenery—it offers a more experiential perspective.
Path 3: I’m circling until my compass finally points in the right direction. It takes a while to arrive at my destination because I’m figuratively (and sometimes literally) running in those circles, profoundly impacting the journey. But I learn more about myself as I figure out how to circumnavigate the twists and turns of life.
Path 4: These journeys have me downright lost! I begin confidently but soon find myself back where I started, needing to remap the trip and retreat to move forward. During those journeys, I often question the validity of where I’m heading and have to become a master of maneuvering through the dark woods that I’m afraid of, around the potholes that I think I’ll fall into, and across broken-down bridges, I don’t want to cross. I must learn to respect the integrity of the quest, talk with God about what I’m called to do, and then move forward with passion. (Sometimes, I get worn out and quit, thinking I must be going the wrong way.)
Path 1 is easy. I head out and quickly get to the finish line. However, I often miss the view, the little nuances that make the journey worthwhile. Path 2, with curves, adds interest—the slight bends along the way show me a different “life landscape,” but I still efficiently reach the endpoint.
But, those serendipitous journeys on Path 3 and Path 4 often teach me the most. The starts, the stops, and the detours along the way make the travel more interesting—even when my first emotion is frustration, and I think (or yell out loud), “For the love of God, what is going on?”
Those paths—the ones where I make accidental, life-changing discoveries; the ones that open my eyes to a new way of “seeing”; the ones that make me stronger or more compassionate are the journeys that shake me to my core and they’re also the ones that make me more “real.”
When I’m back where I started, going around in circles—in the “dark woods of life”—I think, “I’m going to hit a gigantic roadblock and once more have to turn around.” Sometimes that has happened, but other times, those roadblocks have led me to sacred places of peacefulness and understanding that I wouldn’t have known if I’d run straight through.
These twists and turns make me think about the paths Lauren will choose, where her travels will take her, and what experiences she’ll have as she journeys. I will miss her physical presence as she experiences her wanderlust, but love (no matter where she is) will always connect our hearts.
As a fellow life traveler, where are you headed?
What roads do you take over and over again?
What outcomes are you expecting as you navigate through life?
What if you re-thought today’s journey and considered taking a different road, the one (as Robert Frost wrote) “less traveled by”?
May your journeys lead you to where your heart wants to be!
Kay
peace full home®—intentional living 
Wonderful, thoughtful article upon Lauren’s graduation. So nice..mbg
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