Mile Marker 60

Life is a journey, and in two days I will be at Mile Marker 60.  My little kid’s size 3 feet have taken me a long ways.  I thank you little feet.

Looking back over the path that I have travelled over the past 60 years is exciting.  There are some really low spots, but some views from some really high mountaintops.   There have been some lazy river days, and some days that I didn’t know if I would survive.  There have been days I thought my heart would break from sorrow, and days that I thought my heart would burst with joy. 

In the beginning, I walked a lot of miles with Milo and Solomon.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

"There was once a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself-not just sometimes, but always.

When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in.  On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going.  Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he’d bothered.  Nothing really interested him-least of all the things that should have. 

“It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time,” he remarked one day as he walked dejectedly home from school.  “I can’t see the point in learning to solve useless problems, or subtracting turnips from turnips.   Or knowing where Ethiopia is or how to spell February.”  And, since no one bothered to explain to him other-wise, he regarded the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all."

Then Milo and I were joined by Solomon. 

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.  Everything Is Meaningless  2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”  3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

Looking back over the last 60 years, I will have to admit that I spent some time traveling with Milo and Solomon wondering where I was supposed to be going and what I was supposed to be doing.  There were times I wondered if I would ever find meaning.  There were times when life made absolutely no sense.  Thankfully, I can tell you that at Mile Marker 60 I no longer travel with Milo and Solomon. Looking back, it is impossible to tell when I switched traveling partners and linked up with Paul, but I did.  I don’t think it was one “AHA” moment but a lot of little moments rolled together.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT) Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

I finally figured out that the meaning and purpose of life were not a destination but were found walking day by day with the One who is the giver of life. So in two days I will arrive at Mile Marker 60.  I can tell all those who have not had the joy of arriving here yet to keep coming.  The view from here is breathtakingly beautiful.  It the view from a heart of contentment.  Where might these little feet go from here - God knows and that is all that matters.  He walked with me yesterday, He is walking with me today, and He will walk with me tomorrow.  Life is good.