Plans, Paths, and Process: What a Road Trip Taught Me

Costa Rica 2022

“Consider the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established.”
- Mishlĕ (Proverbs) 4:26

A road is never just a road.
It’s a metaphor, a movement, a map in motion.

I took a photo while walking along a quiet, tree-lined mountain path in Costa Rica. To anyone else, it might have seemed ordinary. But to me, it was a kind of mirror. I’ve always been drawn to roads; long, winding, open-ended. There’s something sacred about them. They remind me that every journey requires both direction and intention.

When planning a road trip, you begin with the destination.
And from there, the process unfolds.

That’s true in life, too. You can choose to wander and sometimes, that’s needed. But when you’re stewarding energy, time, or resources, clarity becomes a spiritual discipline. Not because spontaneity isn’t beautiful, but because purpose wants a path. And purpose, when paired with process, creates peace.

I delight in planning, maybe even too much. Give me a blank spreadsheet and a 4-day trip, and I’ll start mapping it out four months in advance. I’ll track drive times, stops, costs, items needed, and touchpoints. I’ll structure each moment not to control the outcome, but to create space for joy. I’ve learned: the more intentional the process, the more freedom it can hold.

Planning is vision. Process is structure.
Like a puzzle box and its pieces, they aren’t the same, but they belong together.

Before any journey, physical, spiritual, or professional, there are questions I now always ask:

• What’s the purpose of this trip?

• Where am I going and why?

• Who’s coming with me?

• What needs to be prepared in advance?

• What might I need along the way?

These aren’t just logistical. They are deeply spiritual.
They form a framework, a sacred container that makes alignment possible.

This is not about control. It’s about wisdom.
It’s about knowing how to prepare, how to pivot, and how to move with clarity even when conditions shift.

So whether I’m planning a retreat, a business workflow, or a trip to the beach, I’m practicing devotion through structure.

And structure, when anchored in purpose, becomes a sacred act of alignment.

Reflection: What would it look like to bring more structure into your journey; not to restrict your freedom, but to protect your purpose?