Ah, vacation time! We look toward those journeys down highways and backroads with great anticipation and no small amount of planning and organization. Our last major excursions happened in 2019 before the pandemic radically changed our lives. That year we went to the great state of Texas to visit our son and his family, followed about six weeks later by a circular journey that took us to Florida for some family time with Ken’s siblings, then wandered up through parts of Georgia, South and North Carolina and through the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee before heading back to Missouri.
Now, I’ve known people who can hop in the car with nothing more than a backpack and their trusty GPS, then head down the road in search of adventure wherever they find it. I’m not one of those, though I’ve often wished I could be. Any major trip in my future begins many weeks ahead, first creating lists to be sure I don’t forget a single thing, then slowly gathering everything on the list and packing it away in a very organized manner. When the time comes to load the car, Ken does the heavy lifting to the garage, but then he just stands back and lets the master packer do my thing. You would not believe what I can pack into a car or a camper. Ken seldom asks if I brought a certain something, he just asks me to point him in the right direction.
The same is true for our home. The kitchen cabinets are arranged in an order that is functional for me and includes turntables that bring needed items forward with just a twist. The closets have a specific place for every item which makes them easy to find. And then there’s the garage. I guess we all need a space that’s not so pretty, though I must say, Ken’s doing a better job of keeping his side organized than I am.
Even when we’re not traveling down unfamiliar roads in search of adventure, we’re all on a journey we call life. Our journey may be fraught with danger or filled with miracles, but it’s our journey and it’s ever-changing. Seasons come and seasons go, we trudge through valleys of despair and celebrate the view from mountaintops, and if we know that God is in control, we also know that this life is just a blip on the radar of eternity.
Last Sunday, Pastor Dennis began a new sermon series based on the Book of Exodus. The word exodus means “the road out” and to many of us it refers to the departure of the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt and their search for a “promised land” flowing with “milk and honey.” It was no easy journey, one that lasted for forty years, and many perils surrounded the Jewish nation throughout this time, not the least of these being their own self-doubt, but they eventually arrived.
And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey….Exodus 3:8
As we look back on the journeys of our lifetimes, we ponder beautiful memories, unexpected emergencies, trails taken and others overlooked. We spend a lot of time looking back when we need to keep focused on what lies ahead. The nation of Israel took two generations to reach that rich land they were promised. Our journey on earth typically lasts through three or maybe four generations, but our trip home happens in an instant. And no packing is required!
No mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. I Corinthians 2:9 NLT
