Road Trip Reflections

 


I love road trips! I enjoy seeing the country at my own pace. The ability to stop and enjoy the views whenever I want is so sweet, especially for someone who loves to explore and take photographs of the scenery. Nature feeds my soul in ways I can't explain, so being able to stop and soak it in is an important part of our trips. 

There are other parts to road trips that I appreciate too, the opportunities to have in-depth conversations with my husband and time for self-reflection. We talk about so many diverse topics on our road trips: religion, politics, inflation, education, our marriage, our goals, our health issues, our family, our blessings, and all the other things that are important to us. And we laugh A LOT! Like tears running down my cheeks laughing. And 'we better find a rest area soon or I'm going to pee my pants' kind of laughing. The joy of laughter has been a blessing in our marriage for a long time. I am so grateful for that.

In between our conversations and laughter there are quiet moments I use for self-reflection. I often think about where I'm at in life and what I can do better. I reflect on where I've been and how far I've come. I think about how I can take my weaknesses and make them into strengths. 

Prior to our leaving on our trip, I had come across the quote: 'The strength of my soul was born on the backs of moments that brought me to my knees.' I spent some time pondering this quote during the reflective times. We have faced some big challenges over the last year and some of them have literally brought us to our knees in grief, in pain, in tears, and in prayer.

It helps me with the healing process to stop and reflect. To acknowledge the loss, the hurt, the pain, and the effects of the loss. It helps me to take stock of my emotions and how I am feeling and provides the opportunity to reframe/refocus my thinking and behavior. I think about what I've learned from my experiences and what needs to improve. I think about what I need to do differently or change to move forward in a positive way. As a spiritual person, it allows me to seek for God in the situation and to seek His blessings to help me heal. 

The spiritual part of self-reflection is important to me. The scriptures state:

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates" 2 Corinthians 13:5-6 KJV

"Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord." Lamentations 3:40 KJV

Notice that both verses mention God. The first to remind us that Jesus Christ is in us and the second to remind us to turn to him. We are meant to include the Lord in our self-reflection moments. This is a crucial part of the self-reflection and healing process. Charles Spurgeon once said, "Any practice that detracts from faith is an evil practice, but especially that kind of self-examination which would take us away from cross-foot proceeds in the wrong direction." 

The danger of introspection without Christ can lead to self-destructive thoughts that keep us focused on our faults and not on Christ and what He can do for us and through us. Self-examination without Christ can be paralyzing and lead to thoughts of being broken or never being enough, which is a dangers loop to be caught in. 

Thomas Chalmers, a Scottish church leader in the 19th century, knew that self-examination without Christ can be tiring, fruitless, and lead to darkness in our souls. He stated, "If we derive no good from the work of self-examination, because we find that all is confusion and mistiness within, then let us go forth upon the truths which are without, and these will pour a flood of light into all the mazes and intricacies of the soul, and, at length, render that work easy, which before was impracticable."

I think that's what including Christ in my self-reflective times does for me, it floods the dark times with light. It helps me with my perspective when I am more focused on seeking Christ than on the challenges I am facing. He fills me with hope when things are difficult. He makes me want to be a better person and to see a way to learn and grow from my experiences. 

Like the scripture said, Jesus Christ is in you, and seeking that part of you during self-examination can help us become a reflection of Him in our own lives, especially in the dark times. 

Through my moments of self-reflection on this road trip I've learned that the strength in my soul is born on the backs of moments that brought me to my knees because that's where I seek Jesus and seek His influence in my life. He feeds my soul with light in the dark. He brings healing to my soul.

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