Who You've Walked Them With

I don't know that this has ever happened to me before, but last night I had a dream that really hit me.

In my dream I was walking down one side of a three lane highway with hundreds of other people who were spaced out in front and behind me. There were no cars, and all was calm. There was a bright light in front of us that we were all walking towards. There was an older lady walking on my left and she kept saying the same thing to me, "It's not about the miles you've walked, but who you've walked them with." We continued to walk towards the light together, and then my wife came along side of me on the right and joined us. Again the lady said, "It's not about the miles you've walked, but who you've walked them with."

I don't remember much else. We ended up at what I think was Heaven. It was a place full of genuine worship to God. Heartfelt praise being offered to God by people in a genuine relationship with Him through the blood of Jesus. People that had been transformed by God, now able to tell Him face to face.

I woke up this morning thinking about that statement, "It's not about the miles you've walked, but who you've walked them with."

I think about that in regards to God. It doesn't matter how many miles I walk on this earth, all that matters is that I've walked them with God. If I have another 75 years or just 75 more seconds here all that matters is that I walk them with God. Who cares where I've been, or what I've accomplished, if God isn't my constant traveling buddy it's ultimately meaningless and a waste of time.

I think about that in regards to my wife. It's not that my life had no point before she came into it, but now there is so much more to my life. I've had experiences before without her, but honestly, during most of them I spent a lot of time wishing she was with me. Honestly, most of the time I don't care what we're doing, so long as we're doing it together. I don't really care where we go so long as we go together.

Life is not about the miles we walk, but about who we walk them with. Experiences are temporary; they are over before we know it. I was looking at a calendar yesterday and it hit me that 2012 will be half over at the end of the week. A few months ago it hit me that based on the average lifespan of an American male, my life is one third over already, and that's not factoring in the time I'll spend asleep, sitting at red lights, and wasting doing nothing.

Life is about relationships. It's about the people we meet and interact with. It's about the people we influence and are influenced by. The lives we touch and change and those that change us. Life is about receiving the life God created us for, a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Life is about being transformed by the love of God and the blood of Christ so that we can live the life He created us to live.

We're on a highway, moving towards something. Death is part of life, but death is not the end. If we receive the life that God is offering us, if we walk our remaining miles with Him, then we end up at the light. We spend forever in His presence, with Him and others who have walked with Him. It's all about the relationship.

"It isn't about the miles you've walked, but who you've walked them with."

To God alone be the Glory!

Peace be with you