The other day Sherry and I were coming back from Olympia (she was driving). I asked, "Where are we?" "Her answer, "I don't know, somethere between Steamboat and the casino." That got us talking about some rather unexciting drives we have. Like going to and from Oregon. The stretch from Kelso and Chehalis is an example of that. Sometimes that stretch seems to last forever. Usually on the way home late, after a day or two with grandkids. "Where are we?" "Don't know exactly." We have been down that road hundreds of times in the 20 years we have lived here. We have seen anything that might be new or interesting already. It is just a road to get somewhere.
Our spiritual journey can seem like that at times. We have been down this road so many times before. Bible study can be like that. We have read that passage before, and aren't really doing it even yet. We sang that song last week, or was it the two weeks before. And those Advent sermons, they seem the same every year. (They aren't but sometimes as the one preaching them they do.)
But then there are those moments which surprise us. Like around Thanksgiving when we noticed that the Red Lion at Jantzen Beach. We learned that it had burned down months before, but we just hadn't been looking and missed it. How often have we driven by a spot and wondered when they painted that building. Or when did they tear down the house the burned across from the library. All of a sudden it was gone. The road becomes more interesting, more exciting and much less tedious if we are really paying attention. Just the same as our spiritual journey. If we pay attention and anticipate an unexpected blessing, lesson or challenge on the road, or a simple divine encounter, suddenly every moment is a moment of discovery, not a burden to be endured.
