Real Life Is in the Journey, Not the Big Event

I have been thinking about the fact that the most momentous days in life have almost as many mundane moments as the other days have. Has God made it this way so we'll look to Him to find a deeper truth about living?

Even on the "big" days in life, you wake up, shower and make coffee. You eat three squares during the day. You brush your teeth and set your alarm before you go to bed. It's funny how we build up the momentous days and look forward to them a great deal, but then when the day itself rolls around it moves along just like any other, albeit with maybe a few special moments.

Sometimes, in fact, these red-letter days will give you a bit of a letdown. You'll have a birthday on which not much really happens. You'll look forward to an evening with friends or having family come into town, but then the day passes away just like that.

Even if you have a great time or a memorable moment, it always moves so quickly. I still can't believe how short my wedding day felt last year. The whole thing was surreal.

Sometimes we can get too focused on these big moments or special events at the cost of the everyday stuff. It's good to have something special now and then, but it seems that the more we focus on that moment, the faster it passes us by.

That is one of the reasons God's Word so often compares life to a race, journey or walk. In a race, for example, every moment is just as important as the next. You have to put forth effort during every part of the experience.

If you want a more modern-day analogy, I think life is more like a baseball season than a football season. There are rare moments of spectacle, but it's the consistent pitching, hitting and defending that will carry you to the playoffs.

You have to focus on building your marriage every day, not just on your date night. You have to work hard at your job every day to achieve results, not just when you have a big meeting. If you want to be happy, you have to find that happiness in your everyday life, not just on weekends and vacations.

It's not only life that bears this comparison, but our faith in Christ and our relationship with Him. Many times I'll find myself looking forward to a church or ministry event, thinking it will be a great time with the Lord. Even if it is, I can't let the event distract me from my daily, regular, moment-by-moment walk.

It's not the dramatic moments that make us into the Christians God wants us to be or lead us into the type of relationship He desires us to have with Him. It's the little moments that happen so often that make the difference—everyday decisions that build integrity, trials that build character, short-but-consistent times of study or prayer that deepen our faith.

Oswald Chambers puts it this way in his classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest: "Never live for the rare moments, they are surprises. God will give us touches of inspiration when He sees we are not in danger of being led away by them. We must never make our moments of inspiration our standard; our standard is our duty."