Embrace Your Journey

Complaints About Aging

It’s fall and things are starting to die and look old. Sort of like my disabled body and Chris’ 65-year-old body. I have issues with Parkinson’s, but Chris just has issues with being old. It’s not just him. It’s all of our friends as well. We all complain about our situations, but every human being that ever lived had to endure the same journey of getting old. I finally had to tell Chris that he was complaining too much. Soon after my admonition we were shopping in the gift section of one of my favorite stores across the river in Minnesota and he found a custom wood sign with an inscribed quote. He carefully placed the sign on my lap, took a photo with his phone, and said, “Next blog.”

The Analogy of a Journey

In that store a light bulb of revelation turned on in both of us and we decided to stop complaining, be more like Christ, and embrace the journey, our journey, while we still had a road to travel on. In early October flowers, greeting cards, candles, small gifts, Kringle, and visits rained down on me as I turned 64. Those six decades of travel have been roads through heaven and hell, but it’s my road. Jesus used the analogy of roads, paths, journeys, and travels in many stories and parables while teaching and preaching the gospel. We all have a road to journey.

A landowner planted a vineyard . . . and went on a journey. (Our journey to embrace Jesus as the ultimate perfect sacrifice for our salvation is a road. Matt. 21)

It (the kingdom of God) is like a man about to go on a journey. (We are on a journey so let’s be good stewards of the gifts/talents God has given us to make our journeys exciting and meaningful. Matt. 13)

The way is narrow that leads to life. (The correct path in front of us is never easy, but it is known by God, and he stands waiting for us at the end of it. Matt. 7)

Some Have Tough Roads

I have discovered that the journey of this physical life can be tough. In his gospel stories, Jesus describes our world as being inhabited by broken, imperfect, and sometimes horribly evil travelers whose ugly decisions and deeds impact our journey. More than just evil people, the Bible describes our sinful world system as being broken and cursed; allowed by God to exist that way as part of our freedom of choice and his inevitable grand plan of grace. Some people may seem to have an easier path than others, but the critical truth is not how hard or how easy is our physical journey in life but whether we have our spiritual journey on the path of Christ with him at the end of it. I have that end in mind through faith and Jesus provides me hope, strength, and delivering power to keep me on the right road.

Life Can be a Maze

My journey this summer included trusting in Jesus’ presence and power for a good run at summer. Now that fall has descended on North Dakota like lightly falling leaves I can say that this has been a joyful and victorious transition—summer to fall. My wheelchair and I have been getting out and enjoying life, people and even a few new things never experienced in these northern plains. In the warm waning days of September-October we decided to face down a challenge, a corn maze. We took on the challenge of the world’s largest (Valley Corn Maze). This northwestern Minnesota phenomenon has a different pattern carved in acres of corn every year. The corn maze was exactly that, a maze: archaic dialect = being dazed and confused by a complex puzzle or network of passages. Just that definition now makes me cringe. The theme this year included some superheroes, who did us no good. We pushed hard though it on a Saturday evening laughing but after an hour our laughter turned to “Oh, oh!” The hard packed dirt rows between corn stalks were not made for skinny wheelchair tires. It was taking much longer than expected; Chris even pulling me backwards fighting against the clock and waning sunlight through the jail-like stalks. Difficulty and panic finally overtook us, and we did a sidetrack (GPS) shortcut and got the heck out of there before they had to send in the hounds and search parties. A friend was no comfort telling Chris in a text that evening; “No worries. We would have come looking for you after church on Sunday.”

Jesus on the Road

More pleasantly, most of our fall journeys or experiences were analogous to doing our best to simply follow Christ with courage and confidence. I did new things never attempted and got out there and enjoyed God’s creation. There were evening fires on my fairly new patio, raucous college football games in the handicapped section, and special seating at a Broadway play on our college campus. I even visited a pumpkin patch on a farm outside of town on the Red River—first time. The pumpkins were cute, the animals interesting, and the cotton candy sweet, but honestly, we felt like more like a young couple with child in a carriage rather than two 60-some year olds rolling a wheelchair through a field. But it was a beautiful fall day, and another item checked off of our "never experienced" list.

The Key to Our Journey

The key in all of life’s journeys that remain for us is to forge ahead hard in following Christ, even in the shortest of sidetracks. In his own words, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me (Matthew 16).” I love it that even if this disease is a type of cross to bear, I have this savior out in front of me waving me forward as I follow. He doesn’t care if I’m skipping to a happy tune or slugging along, because he knows that if I keep my eyes on him instead of myself, the tough parts of the road will be managed with his powerful help. Maybe I’ll see you on my journey.