If you’re desperate for the finish line, skip this chapter. Hurry your way into chapter four. “Endure to the End” might feel more fitting or rousing or suit- able or captivating than “Enjoy the Journey.”

But I invite you to choose to stay here. To be here. To think here. I ask you to read the words and ponder the sights. I contend we can benefit from a view in the present paragraph rather than only ripping pages toward a distant conclusion. If you’re like me, you need this as a reminder to not be so determined to reach your destination that you miss the wonder of each part, the thrill of the journey, the joy of the adventure.

Carolyn Maxwell should be the writer of this chapter. I would ask her to begin here—if she had not died so soon. But in the nineteen years I saw Mama’s beautiful eyes, heard her energetic laughter, and listened to her southern accent, she crafted this chapter into my mind and heart.

And as I now remember her moods many decades later, she still reminds me the three words that keep me breathing, smiling, praying, hoping, loving, and believing: enjoy the journey.

The flowers she planted and put in place. The questions she asked, pausing in the moments to wait for answers. The songs she selected, sang along with, preferred, and talked about. The ball games she watched on television and in person and through our imaginations as I pretended to be a professional athlete outside in those Georgia afternoons. The words she stated, slowly. The walks she took, regularly.

Mama enjoyed the steps she walked on, not just being able to tell us how far she had walked. Mama found value in the dialogue, not just being able to tell us the point she made. Mama prayed, not just going through motions with little passion but cherishing a Heavenly Father she believed was listening and responding in the discourse. Mama spoke the truth, not just stating what listeners wanted to hear or what was popular or what was preferred but stating thoughts and feelings of serious matters in gentle ways.

Mama enjoyed the journey. The steps. The words. The stories. The songs.