Destination Home

"Now I saw a new heaven...'God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.'" Revelation 21:3-4

Growing up, our family could be seen on any given day piling into our blue station wagon. I feel like we lived in that car and boy was it spacious. Looking back, I can picture two of us girls sprawled across the middle seat and two of us laying down in the back area with those seats collapsed. The back window was raised and lowered by our parents and many times all you would see were our legs hanging out of that window. I remember one trip in particular when we traveled down to Florida. That was the longest trip but a fun one! The trip down didn’t seem as far as the trip home. I remember repeatedly asking ‘Are we almost home?’ Regardless of how many times my parents answered I continued to ask, ‘Are we almost home?’ Looking back, I wish I would have thought to tell myself those last hundred miles that the journey behind me was longer than the remaining journey up ahead.

This morning I listened to a song that my daughter Kristen sent me yesterday. It is a powerful song, one that has an accompanying video. The video is somewhat strange, but the ending is remarkable. The song is about the life we live and the impact we have made on people, and the remaining journey we have as we walk towards Heaven. The ending shows a man shedding a bulky astronaut suit on the road as he is crossing into Heaven. It was a powerful visual for me of one day shedding our aging, messy and cumbersome bodies and receiving our perfect spiritual bodies. I realize that the years I have up ahead are fewer than the years I’ve left behind, and I’m encouraged. Life’s roads are made up of gains and losses…planting and sowing…adding and subtracting…joy and heartbreak…celebrations and grieving. But in all this, one thing remains. We as believers are all on the road to eternity. We are on different parts of our journey, but we have the awesome privilege of making an impact on others as we walk it out. We all have Heaven as our destination and every sunset marks one more day closer to Home. Earth is not our final place, but just a string of rest stops. So, today as I consider the beautiful reunions that I am guaranteed, I thank God that one day I will no longer ask if I am almost home.

Whatever your journey looks like at this point you can trust that the road behind you has prepared you for the road in front of you, and God has equipped you for the journey. He will carry you every step along the way and will meet every need you have. Stay strong…keep walking…keep watching for God’s movement in your life.