Dinner In Rochelle

I don’t think I’ve ever been to Rochelle before. I’d heard of it, but never had a reason to go there. It’s a small town just south of Rockford, about an hour and a half drive from my house.Linda and I went to Rochelle for dinner at a restaurant that we had only heard was there, but knew nothing about whether or not the food was good. The food was good. It was just a hamburger. A good one, and very good sweet potato fries. But a simple dinner that we could have enjoyed much closer to home.So why did we go to Rochelle for dinner? Well, it was more about the “going” than the dinner. It may be an hour and a half drive, but it was just a half hour flight, and the restaurant was located just off the runway taxiway at the little Rochelle airport. Dinner was ok, good at best. But the flight over with my wife, the sunset view from the sky, the city lights below in the night flight back, all of that was fantastic.It wasn’t about the dinner, it was about the excursion. It was the journey that we enjoyed, not just the destination.I’ve learned to view life that way. When I was younger, it was all about achieving, realizing, or accomplishing. But destinations can leave emptiness. Had our meal been sub-par last night, the evening would have still been a big win. When you appreciate the trip along the way, the process to what you are shooting for, the whole of life becomes enjoyable, not just the few brief moments of accomplishment.That degree you are working on, teach yourself to enjoy your classes that will get you there, the papers you are writing, and the students sitting around you. That team you play for, enjoy the locker time, practices, anticipation of the game. This huge work project that has you stressed, take a deep breath and consider all the moving pieces and the individual decisions and tasks that work together to make it happen.Take joy in the journey.I’m really looking forward to heaven. Jesus promised that he was leaving earth to prepare a place for me. I can’t wait to see it. But in the mean time, I’m grateful he gives us thousands of little blessings every week along the route. All I have to do is notice them and be grateful. Heaven is going to be wonderful, but I’m also going to enjoy the trip.