bumper sticker memories

The back of my Toyota RAV4 is covered with bumper stickers, most of which are mementos of vacations past. When I'm stopped at a red light, I often glance into my rearview mirror and see the folks in the car behind me straining toward their windshield in order to get a better look at the stickers. Many times I have been able to read their lips as they try to figure out what the various initials stand for. (JH stands for Jackson Hole.) On more than one occasion, I have come out of store and found someone standing behind my car, snapping a picture of my bumper sticker collection with a cell phone. Sometimes, a passerby will stop and ask me to decipher a specific sticker. The most difficult ones to identify for most folks are usually WP (Walden Pond) and ANP (Acadia National Park).

When I look at these bumper stickers, I recall memorable moments from our various family vacations - like our river hike in Zion National Park, photographing grizzlies at Yellowstone, or the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia. I acquire these bumper stickers because I am very goal-oriented - each one symbolizes a successful mission to a particular destination. I made a plan, and we reached the place. The problem with focusing on the destination, though, is that I often am so obsessed with the desired endpoint that I fail to enjoy the journey itself.

This summer is the busiest one in my personal history. I have already completed a five-day Choir Tour/Mission Trip to Williamsburg, Kentucky, with the youth group from my church. A week from Sunday I will accompany the youth to camp, and from that point forward, I will be out of town 27 of the next 40 days. If I'm going to make the most of those days, I need to focus not on my assorted destinations (North Carolina, Wales, California) but on the journey itself. Undoubtedly, God has much to teach me en route.