The Hawaiian Islands are known for their natural beauty and incredible climate. This chain of volcanic islands makes up our fiftieth state and holds many unexpected surprises to delight the eyes, ears, tongue, and nose.
Although they were all formed in a similar manner, each of the individual islands possesses unique treasures. The Big Island is well known for its volcanic eruptions, Oahu boasts Diamondhead and some incredible beaches while Kauai is less commercialized with both an enormous canyon and hundreds of spectacular waterfalls.
Maui is noted for its surfing, shopping, and tourism but the magnificent peak of Mt. Haleakala also draws visitors up its spectacular slopes. Some guests journey to its summit before daylight to watch the sunrise over the blue ocean stretching out to the horizon.
Another famous highlight on Maui is The Road To Hana. This 65 mile drive will take you nearly three hours just to travel one way even if you don’t stop. That’s because the narrow road has over 600 curves demanding an alert focus, power steering, and a strong stomach. Since there are few opportunities along the way, be sure to gas up before you leave civilization and take a drink and some snacks with you for the trek.
Most of this road is two lane but forty-six of its fifty-nine bridges are only wide enough for one car requiring traffic to yield to oncoming vehicles already crossing. In addition, some parts of the road have slid down the bank or into the ocean necessitating brief one-way sections for motorists. Braving this driving challenge is not for the faint of heart and those who wish to pay the price can board a van and allow someone else to navigate while they drink in the beauty.
At the endpoint, the small town of Hana sits on Maui’s far eastern tip and features a quaint and interesting atmosphere, but it really holds little draw other than a welcome location to fill stomachs and fuel tanks. So why would anyone brave the twisty snake path to get there? Because of the journey itself.
This stretch of highway is one of the most scenic in the world offering stunning vistas of the Pacific Ocean to the north as well as amazing waterfalls toward the island’s interior. Because of the many gorgeous opportunities, most visitors take plenty of time to stop and take photos, relax in the beauty, or reflect on the One who created it all. Hana itself is almost anti-climactic but no one really cares because of the spectacular sites they’ve just beheld getting there.
After making this trek in 2017, I’ve reflected on this privilege and realized that it holds lessons for life. We spend much of our time pressing toward some goal or endpoint. When we’re in school, we eagerly anticipate graduation. During engagement, we look forward to marriage. At our jobs, we long for retirement.
Even in the short run, many of us endure the work week as we impatiently await the approaching weekend. Other times it’s a deadline that we strive feverishly to accomplish with the hope of some downtime once it is..
While it’s important to set and work toward worthy goals, it’s more important to enjoy the journey for it takes up most of our time. The Road to Hana is not to be conquered but to be enjoyed, and life is much the same. Many times we speed past stunning relationships and beautiful people because we’re so focused on our task list. On other occasions, we zoom right through life missing the birds singing their spring songs and the peepers playing their nightly symphonies.
Sometimes we just need to pull over, roll down our windows and listen. Or better yet, let’s turn off the engine, get out and take a short walk. Hana can wait! After all, when we do reach the goals we worked so hard to achieve, they’re usually not nearly as glamorous or satisfying as we anticipated.
Fortunately, for those who follow Jesus, we can enjoy both our journey through life AND a fantastic finish! Heaven will never disappoint as we can’t even imagine how grand it will be. But let’s not focus on our eternal destination so much that we miss God’s blessings all around us now. He wants us to enjoy both! Striving to enjoy the journey, George