WQ - How Much Further? (Midpoint)

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. 

Even though Wednesday is the midpoint of the week, my post happens on Thursday this week. I'm participating in the Wednesday Quotes link-up hosted by Marsha at Always Write. We're focusing on the theme "Midpoint" this week, and as we'll soon be halfway through the year, perhaps it's timely.

Not long ago, my husband and I realized that we'd been living in Ohio for six months. Half of a year, or you could say, at the midpoint of the year. A lot has changed since his first day of work here and since we signed the lease on our townhouse. In many ways we do feel that this has become home, we've settled into some routines, we're finding things to be involved in. We're planning on staying here―in Ohio, not necessarily in this townhouse!―for awhile. Probably until retirement. But we don't know exactly how long we'll be here, so we won't actually know it when we reach the midpoint of our stay.

It's often like that in other endeavors as well. When we're on a well-known road that we've traveled often, we know and recognize the landmark at the halfway point. But when we're on unfamiliar paths and don't have a detailed map along with clear mile markers, the best we can do is guess when we've reached a midpoint.

If we are to go only halfway or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty . . . it would be better to not go at all. ~John F. Kennedy

On Monday, we took a family outing to do some hiking at Hocking Hills State Park. Our son had been there before, but it was awhile ago and we weren't sure we were on the exact same trail they'd taken. We had looked at a map and knew the length of the trails. But as we walked, we weren't always entirely sure how far we'd walked already, if the path we'd taken was a shortcut or longer route, and how much further or how many more stairs until we reached the destination. It was also a loop trail, so once we reached the spot that was the highlight of the trip, we couldn't say with certainty that it was the midpoint because we weren't going to retrace our steps!

A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better than the view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands. ~William Lyon Phelps

The unknown midpoint was even more of an issue at the second hiking spot we chose. We went to Rockbridge State Nature Preserve, planning to hike to the natural stone bridge. But there was no handy downloadable map, we only happened upon one clear sign giving a direction. We simply stayed on the path, made decisions when the path forked, and hoped we wouldn't miss the bridge. We could not have answered the questions, "Are we almost there?" or "How much further?" because we really had no idea.

Where is the midpoint of a life experience? At what point can we say we've made it halfway and now we're on the home stretch? In a way, we're almost always at a midpoint of some kind, if we've moved from the beginning but aren't yet at the end.

Our pasts so many times determine the value of what is happening today. Everybody is midway in their story. ~Ron Carlson

As long as we have hope, we have direction, the energy to move, and the map to move by. We have a hundred alternatives, a thousand paths and an infinity of dreams. Hopeful, we are halfway to where we want to go; hopeless, we are lost forever. ~Laozi

. . . the midpoint of each film is the moment when each protagonist embraces for the first time the quality they will need to become complete and finish their story. It's when they discover a truth about themselves. ~John Yorke

We kept going, keeping an eye out for that rock bridge, because we didn't want to miss it. We didn't want to go so far and get so close and then miss out because we gave up and turned back perhaps only yards from the destination. We reasoned that we had to be close and said, "just around that bend, just over that hill, just five minutes more, and then we'll reevaluate." In reality, we'd passed the midpoint of the hike without really knowing it, because we didn't know how much further. Perhaps the midpoint was at one of the places where we were hot and tired and annoyed. And perhaps that is like life as well. Maybe when we are frustrated and discouraged and regretting a decision . . . maybe we've passed the midpoint and we're on the home stretch! Maybe the goal we're headed for is just around the bend a few steps more!

A goal properly set is halfway reached. ~Zig Ziglar

When you see a roadblock or challenge as an opportunity, it is amazing how you are already halfway there. ~Frances Hesselbein

The wise man knowethe where to stop,

as he runneth in the race of fortune,

For experience of old hath taught him,

that happiness lingered midway;

And many in hot pursuit have hasted to the goal of wealth,

But have lost, as they ran, those apples of gold―

the mind and the power to enjoy it.

~Martin Farquhar Tupper

So if you're headed towards your goal, and doing good, don't give up! Even if you don't know how far you have left to go, don't get discouraged! You are at A midpoint. It might not be the exact and measured midpoint, but it is a midpoint, and you are getting closer to the finish line with every step you take!

You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

~Hebrews 10:36~

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

~Galatians 6:9~

Wednesday Quotes is hosted by Marsha at Always Write. This post will be linked at #WQ #22: Midpoint

This post is also linked at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Simply Coffee & Jesus.

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©2006-2023 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/ 

 We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.