Happiness is a journey, not a destination, faith is a destination, not a journey…
When I was a little girl, my parents always said that happiness was a journey and not a destination. I suppose that they meant that I should be happy at each stage of my life without waiting for the perfect set of circumstances that would allow me to be happy. Perhaps they had heard stories about other people who were dying at a young age, or dying suddenly, and were struck by the feeling of regret in thinking that time had been wasted in being unhappy when the person could have spent more time being happy and living in the moment and enjoying their life…
Now, as I grow older and see my own children, it occurs to me that my parents sort of had a point. After all, it is one thing to think to myself that if only this would happen or that would happen, then and only then, would I be happy. And quite another to live a life waiting for a perfect set of circumstances to present itself for my happiness…
But I have been thinking about happiness and comparing it with faith. After all, if happiness is a journey and not a destination, then faith must be a destination and not a journey. Think of what faith really is. It is not gradual. It is not temporary. It cannot be partial. It is complete and full and whole. To speak of having faith and speak of having doubt is incompatible. After all, a person cannot half-jump off a cliff. The person must either take a leap of faith or simply sit back and not move at all.
Happiness belongs to the earth. Joy – which is far deeper than mere happiness belongs to the next life, but mere happiness is not the aim of Heaven… And I have been thinking about that today. For it seems that happiness – which is of this world and not the next – is a process. It is a constant reassessment and negotiation of what is and what was and what could be. But when I compare that against the unchanging nature of faith – the undeniable and incomparable nature of faith which means that people cannot reach out needlessly because with faith there is always an underlying purpose. This not to say that having faith is easy – sometimes is takes a sheer act of will and a mountain of Grace to keep a soul focused on God when they think there is no other option for them. But it is to say that faith is a choice. A soul chooses to be faithful and chooses to acknowledge God’s power are greater than their own. A soul chooses to see the events of their life through the eyes of faith.
And truly – at the end of the day – that really is the destination. For with a faith like that, nothing could ever stop us…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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