I have found the saying, “Life is a journey, not a destination” to be so true.  As a child, I loved summer vacations.  Our family would take to the road with pop-up camper in tow to spend a couple weeks at locations that I had only dreamed or read about.  We visited places like Colonial Williamsburg where I had opportunity to talk with and listen to people acting as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, etc.  We rode mules down the Grand Canyon, capturing its unique beauty and enjoying a large ice-cold lemonade upon arrival at Phantom Ranch at the base of the canyon.  We spent ten exciting days canoeing, portaging, and camping on the rivers and lakes and islands of Algonquin Provincial Park where we enjoyed the beaver, otter, moose and often waking to the sound of the loon.  For me, it didn’t really matter where we were going, it was the “going” that was enjoyable. 

May 6 was a wonderful celebratory day on the campus of Southwestern Adventist University!  Students walked across the stage and thus across the finish line of their college education.  Parents and families cheered, students cheered, and faculty cheered.  This was a moment that no person will ever be able to take away from our graduates.  It is a milestone that will serve them well throughout their professional lives. 

But education is not only about the final exam or about obtaining the desired degree, it is about the journey.  This summer, we have many students taking advantage of the journey that far exceeds what they would learn in the classroom.  Students began their summer adventure traveling to six European countries as part of the Business Department’s European study tour.  Traveling through England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, they will experience different cultures, broaden their world view, and make lifetime memories.

The University Singers and music faculty began their summer tour in Oslo, Norway and will finish in Helsinki, Finland.  They are providing 12 concerts in places like the Finnish Royal Cathedral in Turku, the Klara Protestant Church in Stockholm and the Historic Monastery Church in Naantali, Finland.  I received a wonderful e-mail from someone who attended one of the concerts.  He said, “Their choice in music, professionalism, and spiritual communication was a tribute to your university. Wonderful ambassadors of whom you can be proud.” 

At the end of this month, university students will travel to Wyoming to join up with a team of earth science experts to participate in a four-week dinosaur class, where they will continue the excavation of recently discovered oviraptor, nanotyrannus and triceratops.  Working in six quarries, they will also continue to map the bone bed using GPS technology in order to further their understanding of how so many animals ended up in the same area.  They will rub shoulders with many experts in the field and participants from nine different countries.

These students are enjoying the journey; they are enriching their lives by experiencing a variety of cultures, different people, and understanding and valuing history of different regions. 

Listening to the tunes of a mockingbird and the common grackle coming from the trees outside my office window, I ponder the journeys of our students, and yes, I am a bit envious that I can’t be where they are.  However, it does remind me to enjoy the life-journey I am on, regardless of where I am and what I am doing.  Though this anonymous quote is often-used, it is worth repeating.  “Life is a journey, with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy.” 

Enjoy the journey!

>>>Originally written as an op-ed article for the Cleburne Times Review.