The Destination is Worth It

 

I once knew a girl.

She was beautiful, strong, caring, witty, and she had a bright future ahead of her.  She was about to graduate college when she fell in love… head-over-heels in love.  The kind of love that stops your breathing, blurs your thoughts, and consumes your life.  She gave her heart and soul away and soon found out she was pregnant.  Her life was completely rattled when the one man she had given everything to suddenly decided he didn’t want what she had to offer anymore…

She was alone, broken, and she felt worthless.

I remember the many times I would assure her that God had a plan for her life.  God had a plan for her unborn child; a plan bigger than we could ever imagine!   She would cry, get angry, and question what she did wrong.  Why he couldn’t value her worth and the life of his child?  Why it was so easy for him to walk away?  Why he could simply remove himself from the situation and continue his life without her?  Yet what she didn’t realize at the time was that it had absolutely nothing to do with her.  She wasn’t the problem at all.  The problem was within him.  He wasn’t capable of loving her and her child, but God had someone out there who was.

I can still remember watching her face the pregnancy alone.  I remember all of the phone calls filled with tears, her bursts of anger, and the many times I would hear her cry as she fell asleep each night. Yet I can also hear my reassuring words.  “My sweet friend, God has someone for you.  Someone who will one day take away all this pain in your heart; someone who will be the father your son deserves; someone who will fill you with a love like you’ve never dreamed.  He will love you unconditionally no matter what and will make all of this pain seem worth it… because the road leads to him.”  I lost track of the times I would say these words.  I had no idea how long she would have to be alone.  I had no idea what she was feeling, or how she faced each day, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the road she was on was leading her to bigger and better things.  I knew the journey would be worth it because the destination was going to overshadow all the pain. 

The destination was going to make her whole again. 

The destination was going to breathe new life into her. 

She reached that destination much quicker than she ever dreamed.  God created the perfect end to that broken road she had traveled.  It came in the form of a man who had dealt with his fair share of pain in life, and was searching for someone who would love him the way he deserved.  It was a wonderful thing to witness.   She had reached her destination with many bruises on her heart, but once she arrived she realized it was all worth it.  Slowly her bruises began to fade...

 

She was happy, loved, and complete.

I now find myself muttering the same words I once said to her, yet they vibrate within my own ears.  One day someone will take away the pain; someone will love me no matter what life throws our way; someone will value my life and the lives of my children; someone will make all the pain seem worth it; someone will make all of my bruises fade away.  If you are traveling a broken road today then let this story sink in.  Let it reach deep into your soul.  Let it fill your heart with hope, strength, and determination.  I am traveling a broken road with you, but I want you to know the destination is far greater than we can imagine because my best friend is living proof.