back roads.

this last weekend the husband and i made a road trip to arkansas. his friend from tech, john (who chris calls "pocket" -- weirdest nickname ever), married a girl from camden, arkansas... home of none other than coach tommy tuberville (who has coached at both tech AND auburn -- major brister win). war eagle.

the drive from norman to camden was a whoppin' 6.5 hours of two-lane roads. chris and i have spent more than our fair share of time on I-35 -- the whole time we dated i lived in waco and he lived in austin, then dallas -- then we got married and moved to norman and both of our families live in dallas. i mean, that's just too much, y'all... especially when I-35 is only interesting for about no seconds. so when i realized our entire drive to arkansas was going to look like this:

i was THRILLED. it was like a treasure hunt! we were turning every 30ish miles from one back road to another... small towns, beautiful scenery, no cell phone service, country music on the radio... we were loving it.

so after a fun, quick weekend (chris got some much-needed guy time and i always enjoy a good wedding), we were on the road again back to norman. another 6.5 hours of two-lane roads... except this time, we were less romanced by the open roads. after about 30 minutes, we were wishing for interstate. chris was sick of driving 35 mph through small towns, and i was sick of staring at the map having to navigate.

too often i wish for the interstate in life. i want whatever is quickest and most convenient. i don't want to have to think about it; i just want to put it in cruise control and go. but is that real life? and if i step back and gain even the tiniest amount of perspective, do i really desire that?

i think my life right now looks a lot like back roads driving. i'm learning that it's much more about experiencing the journey than reaching the destination. what's character-building is not always the most convenient -- in fact, it may be quite the opposite: "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope" (romans 5.3-4). perhaps the back roads in life -- the constant turns and changes of direction, the feeling like you're out in the middle of nowhere disconnected from everyone besides the person in the seat next to you, and, of course, the impatient "are we there yet?"s -- are actually good for the soul. 

and speaking of the person in the seat next to me... i'm so thankful i get to be on this journey with him, sometimes loving and sometimes just enduring the back roads.

may we learn how to lean into this journey together, trusting the Lord to develop in us perseverance, character, and hope.