Beware of “Arriving”

Picture in your mind a trailer—one that has arrived and has been in that same spot for years now…

Brittle, cracked, flat tires with weeds growing out of them.

Moss and other plants thriving on the roof.

This trailer may have arrived…

But it’s stuck.

Stuck = unmovable, done, finished, over, going nowhere—the best days are all in the past now.

Beware of “arriving”.

We tend to celebrate arrival (graduation, marriage, career, parenthood, retirement).

Unfortunately, we also tend to get stuck soon after arriving.

When we’re stuck, we become brittle, cracked and weeds start growing out of us.

And moss grows on us.

After leaving Egypt, God’s people looked like a trailer that got stuck in the desert.

They spent 40 years there as if they had “arrived” – but their time in the desert was only supposed to be an 11 day walk to somewhere else… (Deuteronomy 1.2)

Even Paul – the “super apostle” – knew the danger of arriving: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on…” (Philippians 3.12 NIV).

Kevin Plank, the founder and CEO of Under Armour, recently said: “What I do know is that we have not yet built our defining product at Under Armour. We are not living in the past. Our larger competitors are 20 times our size. There is running room all over.”

I really love that line: “There is running room all over.”

Beware of “arriving”.

Moving forward, growing, changing, learning and pressing on is a bigger deal than arriving.

Graduated? Keep studying, learning, achieving.

Married? Keep dating, growing, loving, learning.

Got your career? Keep producing, climbing, inventing, creating.

Got kids? Keep growing younger, live, laugh, embrace each season.

Retired? Keep investing, serving, blessing, contributing, loving, encouraging.

I know we like to celebrate arrival, but I think it’s just as important (probably more important) to celebrate movement and progress.

Keep going—your race isn’t over yet!