Travel can be tiring—really tiring.
The packing. The journey to the airport and train stations. The shuffle through security. Boarding. Upright seatbacks. Cramped legroom. The long line for the (ugh) lavatory.
Then you finally arrive—unpack, eat, try to sleep (not enough), get up, see this and that… and repeat.
What I Love (and Don’t Love) About Travel
Don’t get me wrong—I love what travel gives.
New places. New people. New perspectives. I love the learning, the discovery, the way travel stretches how you see the world.
It’s just the getting there part I could do without. And honestly, that’s becoming truer with every passing year.
The Time Zone Battle
My biggest travel challenge—hands down—is dealing with time changes.
And before you start recommending the latest sleep trick or jet lag app, just know this: as a retired engineer, I’ve tried them all. Nothing really works for me.
But one thing I have learned: traveling east to west is way easier to deal with than west to east.
That became clear after a recent 21-day trip that took my wife and me eight time zones away from home. On the flight back, staring out the window, I realized we were literally chasing the sun.
Our trip was ending, but in a strange way, we were racing daylight—heading toward home.
Youth, Wisdom and the Long View
Somewhere up there, I started reflecting (as travel tends to make you do).
Whoever said, “Youth is wasted on the young,” really knew what they were talking about.
There’s so much I wish I could go back and do over—do better, remember more clearly or just appreciate more.
It brought to mind something a wise church mother said during testimony service more than 50 years ago (remember those?). She stood up and said:
“Though my eyes are getting dimmer, my path is growing brighter.”
Mic drop.
Chasing the Son
That line stuck with me. Because it’s true—so often we don’t “get it” until later. Much later. When we’re young, we often chase the wrong things. It’s only after a few miles (and a few mistakes) that we start to see what really matters.
Somewhere over the clouds, still chasing that stubborn sun, I thought about what she said—and how life itself feels a lot like that flight.
We’re all traveling through this life, chasing light in one form or another.
And how much better it is when we’re chasing the Son instead.
The Journey That Matters
Scripture reminds us that life is short and not without its challenges. But it also promises that through and in the Son, we experience a life fuller and more abundant than we could ever imagine.
So yeah, travel can wear me out.
But if I’m chasing the Son along the way— that’s a journey I don’t mind taking.
Categories: Acts17seventeen Christian Christianity Community Follower Of Jesus God's time Travel
Pastor Mark
Mark, the eighth of nine children born to Reuben and Henrietta Meeks—dedicated church planters with nearly 30 congregations established across California’s Central Valley—is a preacher's kid who grew up immersed in faith and service. With over forty years of experience teaching, discipling, and ministering to communities, including the hospitalized and incarcerated, Mark responded to God's call to pastoral ministry. He holds degrees in civil engineering and public administration, as well as a Master’s in Theology from Fuller Seminary, equipping him to serve with both practical insight and spiritual depth.
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