Journeys...

I know it sounds cliche, but life is a journey.  Is it an easy journey?  Not by any means!  It has it's up, downs, happy times, sad times, roadblocks, etc....and that is what makes each of our journeys unique.  I will say this, our journeys are much better if we have others to share it with...spouses, family, friends, and, yes, even pets.

These past few weeks have been ones of many, sometimes difficult, journeys for our family.  

• It started with having to move my wife's 93 year-old grandfather out with her parents due to his failing health...the next step in my mother-in-law's journey of caring for her aging father. 
• It continued to my daughter's national dance competition...the culmination of a year's journey that has included countless hours of classes, practices, rehearsals, recitals, performances, and other regional competitions.  
• During the week's competition, my wife's Grandaddy passed peacefully in his sleep.  His wishes were honored, and he was surrounded by those he loved, and who loved him.  Grandaddy will be missed, but he will never be forgotten.  We don't say goodbye, but rather see you again one day...his journey is finished.
• The next stage of our journey found us all heading out the same day to different places across the country.  My wife and her parents have headed back to their home town to lay Grandaddy to rest...my daughter headed to NYC for a week of training in the performing arts...and I headed out to TX to visit family.

So how do I, as a husband and Dad, deal with my family being pulled so many different directions?  Did I show enough support for my daughter at her competition?  What about her trip to NYC...was I right to send her alone?  And what about my wife?  Am I abandoning her in her time of need by deciding to go ahead, at her urging, and travel to TX to visit my family (a trip that has been planned for months, by the way)?  Why do I feel that no decision that I could have made would have been 100% correct?

During this journey we call life, we will be faced with MANY decisions and choices that we will need to make...and thanks to our human nature, we will screw up more than our share of them.  We will worry, we will stress, we will mess up...but we will never be forgotten or forsaken.  I don't know about you, but that simple fact is a HUGE comfort to me.  A couple of scriptures that I draw strength from come from Isaiah 41...

"fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

and my favorite since childhood...

"For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, 'Fear not, I am the one who helps you.'" (Isaiah 41:13)

So instead of worrying about whether or not everything I do is correct, I need to focus on what God's plan is, and carry that out to the best of my ability.  I may not be perfect, but like my Father, I will always be there for my girls during their journey...and there is no other place I would rather be.