Traveling Together, Part 2
“Do not attempt this journey alone. Find companions who see you as a pilgrim, even a straggler, and not as a guide.” – Philip Yancey
On a trip from Dallas to southern Colorado last fall Tee and I followed the exact route we had carefully mapped out in advance. All went well until we were about two hours north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was getting late and dark, yet we seemed to be progressing as scheduled . . . until suddenly we ran out of highway and found ourselves on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Startled be this unexpected occurrence we doubled back briefly assuming we had missed a turn, then paused to re-check our map only to discover we were indeed on the path we had mapped out. So for the next sixteen miles we suffered along a bumpy desolate country road nervously counting the miles toward a return to smooth pavement and some indications of civilization.
Recently a number of our friends and loved ones have found themselves in the midst of some rather serious health issues. It’s an indication of our age I suppose. And like us when we were driving through New Mexico in the middle of the night the smooth pavement beneath their lives suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared. Unlike us, though, their journey back to civilization may not be as predictably nearby as the mere sixteen miles we had to travel.
We live in an age that seems to revere individualism and self-reliance. Yet all of us – and I do mean ALL of us – sooner or later experience rough roads that have no predictable end in sight. It is in times such as these when we are reminded of our deep dependence on one another, on our fellow traveling companions.
We are all just pilgrims, you see, even stragglers at times – especially during those times when the pavement beneath our lives suddenly and unexpectedly disappears in the dark of night and there is no predictable return to civilization. That’s why we travel together, why we must not attempt this journey alone.