The Station

[stogiey2k2]

Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a

long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the

windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways of children

waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke

pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat. Of flatlands

and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and

village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a

certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags

waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the

pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How

restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering-waiting,

waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

"When we reach the station that will be it!" we cry. "When I'm 18 " "When I

buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid though college!",

" When I get married!" "When I have paid off the mortgage!" "When I get a

promotion!" "When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever

after!"

Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive

at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a

dream. It constantly outdistances us.

"Relish the moment" is a good motto. Especially when coupled with Psalm

118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be

glad in it. "It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the

regret over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin

thieves who rob us of today.

So stop pacing the aisle and counting the miles. Instead, climb more

mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers,

watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along.

The station will come soon enough.