Are We There Yet?

Philippians 3:12-14
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Many of us grew up taking car trips. When families went on vacations, they usually went in the car. My Dad worked for TWA, so we flew a lot when I was a kid. But we still took the occasional car trip. Tammy and I and our kids took most of our vacations by car. Many of our fondest memories come from those car trips. How about you?

One of the most often-asked questions on these trips is the same, regardless of the destination, or the family: "Are we there yet?" We get impatient on the journey. While we're on the journey, it seems like it takes forever. But think about it, when you get to your destination, you forget the time and remember the fun of the journey.

We are at Day 75, the three-quarter pole for Tammy's journey. We're not sure exactly what happens at Day 100, but we know it will free her up to do more things. More importantly, it will mark the passing of the riskiest period of her recovery.

We've stated before that it seems like the time has gone quickly in some ways, and it's dragged in others. Tammy is doing pretty well, so it seems like she should be out of the woods. She's "not there yet," though, which is why they put the benchmark at 100 days, not 75.

Paul looks at life as a journey. We won't be complete in our conformation to the image of Christ until our journey is complete. But we are progressing. When we look back on all the things that have happened on this journey, do we remember the time it took, or do we remember the things that happened along the way? Do we even look at the big picture and see how the events that happened shaped the end result?

Recently, someone very close to Tammy asked her if she ever woke up and thought it was October (before she got sick). Her reply shows where her heart is. "Every morning when I wake up, I feel like it's Easter. God has given me one more day to live for Him. It's as exciting as Easter morning. Jesus rose; this is true. He has given me this day for Him."

Tammy has never asked God, "Why me?" She looks at this story as a way to bring glory to Him.

She’s not there yet, but she’s on her way.