This past weekend I spent time at my alma mater, Huntington University, to celebrate Homecoming weekend. I enjoyed walking around the beautiful campus, watching the wonderful fireworks, drinking hot chocolate, attending sporting events, and talking with old friends and remembering others. I am thankful for those times and how much I enjoyed my college years at this remarkable university. Forty years ago as I was preparing to leave home and embark on my college years my dad gave me an essay to read entitled The Station. He felt that I needed its message. I would like to share this thought provoking essay with you.
The Station
By Robert J. Hastings
Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering- waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 18.” “When I buy a new 450 SL Mercedes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I paid off the mortgage!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”
Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
“Relish the moment!” is a good motto, especially when coupled with
Psalms 118:24: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.
Thank you, Dad for sharing this essay with me and for making the journey your priority. I’ve long since passed my 18th birthday, I’ve graduated from college, married my college sweetheart, raised two beautiful daughters, lived out my dream of being a teacher, and just recently retired from the career I loved. And Dad, I want you to know that I cherished each part of the journey. Thank you for teaching me to appreciate all the little things in life, as they happen. Memories are sweet but they are even sweeter when you know that you savored the moments and you have no regrets. I look forward to tomorrow because I’m still on my journey. I plan to enjoy each day and what it has to offer until I reach my heavenly destination with the Lord.
-Shelli