110,00 Miles

I do my deepest thinking in the shower.  I have no idea why. Maybe it’s because it is the only time I have, in silence, to myself.  I can actually hear myself thinking. Last night the following question hit me.

“I wonder; how many miles  does the average person walk in a lifetime?”

Yes, I know, not really a philosophical question.  I then did what any true adult does….I googled it. And, low and behold, Google had the answer.

Google told me that the average person, who lives to be 80, will walk approximately 110,000 miles.  I don’t know what I was expecting to find, but I wasn’t expecting that number!  That’s incredible!  110,000 miles!

Then, as my mind usually does, I started thinking about the miles I have walked so far. They have included being a part of an incredible cheer squad, coaching, walking down the aisle to my husband, walking the stage at high school and college graduation, teaching, pacing the floor while rocking my two babies to sleep, traveling, mission trips, funerals, 5K’s, the mini marathon in Indy, and the list goes on.  I started to think about the places I have been, the people I have seen, and the children I have taught.

Then this thought hit me.  Were those miles worth it?  Were the tears that came with those miles worth it?  Were the memories made during those miles worth it?   And, for the most part, I could answer yes.  There are some miles I would take back and re-do, but for the most part, I would travel all of those miles again.

I pray I have many thousands of miles ahead of me.  I don’t know where all of those miles will lead, but I pray God nudges me down the correct paths.  At the end of my life, whenever that may be, I want to be able to look at all the miles I have gone and smile.  I want to be able to say they were all worth it.

So, where will your miles take you?  Where have you been, and where are going?  Make sure your miles are worth it!