Where Are You Going?
- Eric Crowley
- May 7, 2018
- 7 min read
A beautiful two months it has been! Since I last wrote, we’ve done tons of missions on 3 different islands, my parents came to visit for 2 weeks, and we rode our bikes around the entire island of Cebu. Phew, I’m getting tired just thinking about it!
With all these adventures lately, it got me reflecting on the word “busy-ness” (not business, but busy-ness). Sometimes in our culture it seems as if “busy-ness” is a virtue. Often when you ask someone how they’ve been, they’ll reply, “Oh, things are good. Yeah, I’ve been really busy…” As if being busy is a great accomplishment. No, busy-ness is not a virtue. Now, being busy isn’t bad per se. We can be busy doing good, serving our family and friends, learning new skills, practicing interesting hobbies, fulfilling our responsibilities. That’s all good. It’s all about being busy with the right things, and with the right direction.
“Where are you going?” Here in the Philippines, that’s actually a way to ask someone how they’re doing. It’s like a greeting. “Asa man ka?” “Where are you going?” I was so confused here at first when the kids would always ask me that. “Why is everyone so nosy!” I thought. “They always want to know where I’m going!” Later I realized that it’s not really about where you’re going, it’s more of a greeting, or a “how are you.”
But my question means just that: “Where are you going?” If you don’t know where you’re going, then how will you know what to do to get there? If you don’t know where you’re going, what you want, what direction you’re headed, then you can easily fill your life with “busy-ness” that will neither help you nor lead you to your destination. We all know that person who is obsessed with their favorite sports team, but neglects to help their children with their homework. Or that person who is so driven at work, but can’t seem to find the time to clean the house. Or the seemingly most common nowadays: The one who has time to scroll through facebook for endless ages, but doesn’t have time to pray, or to meet up with friends, or….you name it. Actually, that person is me, and you. It’s all of us. We all fill our lives with some kind of unnecessary business that distracts us from where we’re going. We can even use busy-ness to hide from our fears, our weaknesses, our inabilities, our responsibilities.
So, where are you going? We need to know, so that we can be busy with the right things. And in the midst of the busy-ness, we need to remember who we are, what we want, where we’re going…
Never trust Google Maps. I’m serious. Well, at least in the Philippines. It will not help you to get where you’re going. Actually, I take that back. Sometimes it will. But without fail it will lead you down some crazy, unpaved, obstacle-ridden road through the jungle.
When my parents came to visit, we traveled to another island famous for its breathtaking natural beauty: lush green mountains which end in sheer rock faces that plummet in to the sea; craggy islands that jut up from the midst of the crystal clear water…When we arrived, we had a 5-hour drive from the airport to our destination. And we had Google Maps, so we were good. Or so we thought. We knew where we were going: Casa Cecilia in El Nido. We had the map. We were set. So we rented a car and headed on our way. At one point we came to a round-about. The sign to El Nido pointed one way, but Google was telling us another way. “Eh, Google probably knows a quicker route,” we thought, and continued to follow the path on the phone.
But then the unexpected happened….The road ended. Literally, it just stopped. There was about an 18 inch drop off - just high enough to inevitably destroy the underneath of our rental car. What to do! We couldn’t back up (it’s too long of a story to explain why, but trust me…), and now it seemed we couldn’t go forward either! We sat pondering for a few minutes before having an idea. There were a bunch of rocks lying around…why not use them to build a little “ramp” that we could drive down? So we did just that! And, it worked! We were able to drive down, no problem, and continue on our way. The only problem now was that the road was no longer paved. In fact, some parts made our little “rocky ramp” seem like a smooth highway! We figured this would only last for a few minutes before we would be back on a paved road…I mean, Google wouldn’t really lead us on some crazy mountainous jungle trek, would it? Yes. Yes, it would. We quickly realized that there were no other cars around. Anywhere. We passed through tiny villages every 30 minutes or so, and they would just stare at us. I’m quite convinced that we were literally the first car they had ever seen trying to pass that way.
By now we had no more cell-service. Google had abandoned us. We continued on, minute after minute, praying that we wouldn’t get a flat out in the middle of the jungle. And then suddenly, the “road” was cut off by a river. A river!! I got out to test how deep it was…I found a part to one side that was only about 10 or 12 inches deep, just shallow enough so the bottom of the car could pass. So, we revved up the engine, aimed for the shallow part, and flew across! Another obstacle passed!
More terrible road. More 5mph driving. The next obstacle soon came in to view. A “bridge” made of ply-wood (very old ply-wood, may I add…). It had pieces of wood laid horizontally across, and then two tracks of wood placed on each side leading across for the tires. It looked like it might be able to support 2 or 3 people walking across…So, we lined up the tires with the tracks and…phew! We made it! I wonder if the next car was so lucky. Oh wait, I doubt there’s been a next car…
We continued on, obstacle after obstacle, victory after victory. No turning back! The whole time we were so anxious that we would meet an obstacle that was completely unsurpassable. We were already low on gas….What would we do?
We stopped in a few villages to ask if we were close to El Nido. “Oh, no! Very far, very far!” was the usual response. It had now been over 3 hours, with no civilization in sight, when the cell-service returned and Google decided to “help us out” again. And it was true, it still looked “very far.” But it showed on the map that the “National Highway” was approaching, and our hopes soared. Almost back to a paved road! After crossing two more rivers, we reached the National Highway…..And it was as unpaved as ever.
We’ve gotta get there! Keep going! We pushed on. Eventually, when the anxiety and stress was really starting to get to us, and we were sure that our tires would pop at any moment…..A road, a real road could be seen in the distance! Hallelujah!! The feeling of our tires hitting that sleek, smooth surface was indescribable. Pure relief, mixed with a lot of, “What the heck just happened?!”
Well, we made it to El Nido. We reached our destination. We got to where we were going. And our back tire popped in the parking lot when we arrived…Amazing.
Why do I tell this long and detailed story? Because I think it’s a great image of life. We were able to continue, to fight on, and to reach our goal because we knew where we were going. The way was more treacherous than we were expecting. There were many unknown obstacles along the way. But we knew the place we were going to was good, and so we let nothing stand in our way.
So, where are you going? We’re all going many different ways in life, but the one thing that is common, the one place we’re all heading to, is nowhere to be found in this world. C.S. Lewis's famous quote explains it well: "If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world." It’s the place we’re all longing for in the depths of our hearts. That place of beauty, where we will gaze upon the face of Love with unclouded vision and feast at the banquet of life forever more. These are not my words (I’m not that good…). St. Gregory the Great wrote them over 1,400 years ago. He summarizes perfectly the importance of “knowing where we are going”:
“Beloved brothers and sisters, let us set out for those pastures where we will keep joyful festival! May the thought of that happiness urge us on! Let us long eagerly for what heaven has in store for us. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that heavenly feast. Anyone who is determined to reach his destination is not deterred by the roughness of the road that leads to it. We must not allow anything to turn us aside, or we shall be like a foolish traveler who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing that he forgets where he is going.”
Let us not forget where we are going! Where are you going? To heaven! Don’t let anything distract you from your destination! Let yourself be “busy” with the things that will lead you there. We all have those things in our lives that we need to regulate, or kick out of our lives all together. Don’t be afraid to make a change! Take some time to see what you’re busy with, and to reflect on what’s good for you and what’s not. Be conscious of your responsibilities and the people God has put in your life. How can you serve? How can you be better? How can you let your “busy-ness” mean life for others?
Let us be busy with the right things, so we can get to where we’re going.
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