Last night, after my little fellowship gig with a friend at a travel agency’s anniversary dedication, I spent some time looking through the company’s Instagram posts.
I was impressed.
In ten years, my friend and his team have taken customers on hiking adventures to more than 200 countries. That includes the difficult COVID years, when he had to drive a Grab taxi to tide things over. It was quite something to see how far the company had come, especially knowing a little of what it had taken to get there.
I found myself wondering about the travel experiences the agency has been providing all these years. What must it be like to visit so many beautiful places, to lead people through trails and landscapes they might otherwise never experience?
But this morning, while doing my usual chores at home, another thought came to me.
I love my home.
I like travelling. I enjoy seeing the beautiful world God has created. I understand how travelling can help families build memories, strengthen friendships and take a break from the routines of everyday life. I have visited many beautiful places myself.
But I love my home more.
I wouldn’t trade my home and family for a life of constant travel. I don’t need to chase one adventure after another to feel that I am living a fulfilling life. My family gives me the best adventures I could ask for.
Perhaps this is something I have come to appreciate more as the years go by. There is so much to see and experience out there, but there is also so much to be thankful for right where I am.
There is another thought that came with my reflection on the tour agency.
My friend and I were Bible Study group mates from 1991 to 1994. He and many of his team members are Christians. I don’t know how central the gospel is to the way the agency conducts its business, or whether opportunities to share the good news of Jesus arise during their travels. I have not read enough about their work to make that judgement, and social media posts can hardly tell the whole story.
Still, I found myself wondering about the purpose behind it all.
As a Christian, I believe my purpose in life is to share the good news of Jesus with the world. I wonder how that conviction finds expression in a business that takes people around the world. Is the gospel a key motivation behind the agency’s work? Is it part of the way my friend and his team serve their customers? Or is it something they keep separate from the travel business?
I would like to have the opportunity to catch up with him and hear his thoughts. Not to judge his work, but because I am genuinely interested in what God has been doing in his life and through the company he has built.
In the meantime, I can pray for my friend and his team, that they will continue to be guided by God and motivated by the gospel.
And then there is my home.
God is the head of my household. I am thankful for my wife and daughters, and for the ordinary days we share together. I don’t need to envy the places other people visit or the adventures they post about online. Their experiences can be wonderful without having to become mine.
It brings me back to my guitars, too.
After all the different guitars I have owned, the exotic finishes, the fancy specifications and the endless possibilities, there is something reassuring about May, my humble acoustic guitar. I took her along to play at the gathering, and she did well.
May reminds me that, for all the fancies of the world, an acoustic guitar still feels like home. So does Lady, my little reminder of the music and people I love.
Perhaps I am learning that contentment isn’t about having seen everything, owned everything or experienced everything. It is about recognising what God has already placed in my hands and being thankful for it.
There are many wonderful adventures waiting out there. I am happy for those who get to experience them.
But my favourite adventure is still waiting for me at home.