September
07
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The Journey, Not the Goal
Labor Day is an interesting holiday. For many of us, it marks the unofficial end of summer—a long weekend, one last trip to the lake, or simply a welcome day away from work. But Labor Day is also a day to think about work: what we do, what we accomplish, and perhaps even why we do it.
The painting accompanying this reflection is Ship in the Stormy Sea, painted in 1887 by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky. Aivazovsky painted the sea thousands of times. It would be worth your time to Google his works. He had an extraordinary ability to capture water—the light passing through it, the movement of the waves, and sometimes their tremendous power.
I am especially drawn to this painting. The little ship seems almost insignificant against the enormous sea. The waves are still rolling. The storm has not passed. There is no shoreline in sight. The ship is simply in the midst of the journey.
Maybe there is something appropriate about looking at that painting on Labor Day. We spend so much of our lives working toward something—a goal, a destination, a finish line. We measure progress by how far we have come and how much farther we have to go.
But most of life isn’t lived at the finish line. Most of life is lived somewhere out on the water.
In 2013, Diana Nyad knew something about that. At the age of 64, she became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the protection of a shark cage. It was her fifth attempt at a dream she had pursued for decades. After more than 100 miles and roughly 53 hours in the water, she finally staggered onto the beach in Key West.
I remember seeing the footage. Her face was swollen. Her legs were shaky. She looked completely exhausted. And I remember thinking, What an accomplishment. What an inspiration.
But I also remember another thought: Now what? What happens when you finally accomplish the thing you have spent years trying to accomplish?
Most of us will never swim from Cuba to Florida, but we know something about goals. We work toward graduation. A promotion. Retirement. Paying off the house. Raising our children. Finishing a project. Getting through a difficult season. We tell ourselves, Once I get there…
There is nothing wrong with goals. Goals give us direction and often call forth some of the best in us. But there is a danger in believing that our purpose is waiting for us somewhere at the finish line.
We can do the same thing with God. We wonder, What is God’s purpose for my life? And often what we mean is: What am I supposed to accomplish? Where is God trying to get me? What is the big thing I am supposed to do? But perhaps God’s purpose is not only found at the end of the journey.
Oswald Chambers once wrote, “God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future.” He goes on to say that what we often see as preparation, God sees as the goal itself. I like that. Because it means today isn’t merely preparation for something more important. Today matters.
The work you do today matters. The person you encourage matters. The patience you learn matters. The forgiveness you offer matters. The way you treat the person standing in front of you matters. Even the ordinary work that nobody notices can become a place where God shapes us and works through us.
Maybe that is an appropriate reminder for Labor Day. Our culture often measures work by what it produces. What did you accomplish? How much did you earn? How far did you get? What do you have to show for all your effort?
God may be asking a different question. Who are you becoming along the way?
It’s not that we shouldn’t set goals or celebrate when we reach them. We should. But we don’t have to wait until we arrive somewhere else to discover God’s purpose. God is already here.
Being Human connection. So work toward the goal. Swim toward the shore. Celebrate when you get there. But don’t miss what God is doing in you—and through you—while you are still in the water.
Featured art: Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, Ship in the Stormy Sea, 1887
Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. –Matthew 6:33
Labor Day humor
