Are you the type of person who, when traveling, is more concerned about getting there or enjoying the ride?

I was driving to Circuit City yesterday to drop of Katie’s car for her stereo installation; Katie was following me in her car … and I realized I was going much too fast for a 16 year old driver on I-10. I can afford another ticket, but she can’t. So I knew I had to slow down. Why was I such a hurry? And why was it so difficult for me to drop 10 mph? Because I’m much more interested in getting there than in the process. I don’t like it. I’m so future oriented that I have a very difficult time just enjoying the ride.
Today I led mid-day prayers for the staff at work. We read the story of the wise men traveling to Bethlehem to visit the newborn King of the Jews. In The Message, it says,

“They could hardly contain themselves: They were in the right place! They had arrived at the right time!”

I thought … right place, sure, but right time? It took months, possibly years, for them to get there! They went to Jerusalem first … out of their way … they should have mapquested first.

But perhaps, God’s timing was in the journey as well as the getting there. Perhaps God’s timing was in the patience, the trekking, even the wrong turns. They arrived at precisely the right time.

I want to learn to be focused in the moment, not consumed by later. In the Dewitt Jones video, Celebrate what’s Right with the World, he interviews a world-renowned weaver in Scotland who projects an aura of wisdom. Jones asked her what she thought about as she weaves, expecting a profound reply. “I wonder if I’ll run out of thread,” she answered. She noticed his look of disappointment and added, “when I weave, I weave.”