The Long Way Home

Supertramp’s 1979 album titled, “Breakfast in America” was a smashing success. I saw them in concert. One of the singles from the album is titled, “Long Way Home.” Both the album and this song are beyond good. Give them a listen if you are not familiar with them. I promise you won’t be let down.

Today is my 40th high school reunion, being held in Wayne, PA, not far from King of Prussia where Upper Merion HS is located. Forty years. Hard to believe. I won’t be there but you can bet that my fellow students are on my mind.

Two days ago, I took the long way home to Columbia from Charleston. I took the back roads. They were less congested on Thanksgiving Eve. Plus, the farmland filled with post-harvested cotton, pecans, and peanuts are brilliantly colorful and grand. I am never disappointed.

On my way home and since, I pondered the term, “long way home.” Isn’t that a good summary of life? For me, finding my faith in God has been the most profound journey. I found my way to the LORD and have never turned back. Even so, life has a way of making days and weeks and months of what should be shorter and briefer experiences. Instead, through the “will of God,” “human free will,” and good and bad choices it is not hard to get off the right path. Sometimes it takes awhile to find a better, more level, easier path. The backroads can be bumpy and more dangerous, especially the two-lane ones where trucks are traveling with cut lumber carefully tied to the flatbed.

So, slowing down to ponder the “long way home” may be worth one’s time and my time. I think so. I think of what if’s, what could be, what should have been, what might be, etc. The list could go on and on. Yet, life is a journey. It is the long way home.

The long way can be filled with great joy and devastating heartbreak. The long way home may be the arduous journey of finishing high school, a graduate degree, or waiting on a much-needed trip overseas. The long way home can be the death of a dearly loved one, job loss, home loss, or even death of a beloved pet. The long way home may be long, but I know firsthand, that the road is never monochrome. For me the colors of life are bright, full of life, even in the darkest of days. For the human being, you and me, is so full of creativity, goodness, love, and mercy. Humans help humans on the long road home. We offer a meal, a friendly email, a long-needed phone call, or even a word of apology.

So, Supertramp says, “take the long way home.” For me, I would not want it any other way.