Here to Canoe

Two men were canoeing in the Boundary Water's Canoe Area. An ice cold, Canadian wind had picked up and frigged water continued to splash into their canoe as they paddled. Both were exhausted. But one man had a smile on his face while the other was smug. Finally, in the lee of an island the men took a moments break.

"How can you smile now?" the first man asked.

"Just think of the character we are building," the second man replied.

"I won't smile until our fire is blazing at our campsite."

"We didn't come up here for the destination; we came up here to canoe."

This journey to the mission field can be pretty tough. WorldVenture is having me read books, write reports, make phone calls, give presentations and budget my time. But I have to stop and think, am I doing this just to get on the mission field? What will be the point once I reach the mission field if I haven't learned something along the way?

If God was only about our destination, He would have taken us to heaven the moment of our salvation. God cares about the process. We are here to canoe. Sure, we have the destination to look forward to, but God is teaching us something while we paddle.

Time to leave the island behind. "Let's keep paddling!"