Prepared Places

Can you recall all the times you’ve moved in your life? 
I remember one time in particular. Thirty years ago, we packed up and moved 3,000 miles across the country. 
We left North Carolina with two teenage daughters, two cars, and a fully-loaded U-Haul™ truck. My husband Gordon drove the truck with one car in tow, while the girls and I took turns driving the second car behind him.
Our cross-country trek to California took nine adventuresome days! Each afternoon we stopped at a place pre-picked by Gordon, with easy access to the interstate and a motel pool for relaxing. The girls and I felt secure knowing that our stopping places along the way had all been planned.
All through the journey, someone who loved us and led the way in the truck had chosen our resting spots.
The Lord likewise prepared stopping places for the Israelites as they journeyed from Egypt to Canaan. Moses reminded them: The LORD your God…went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day (Deut. 1:32-33 NKJV).
The Lord went before them, pre-selecting their resting spots. He also traveled right alongside them, guiding by day and night. All their stopping places were chosen by the God who loved them.
Their task was to trust his love.
Part of the enjoyment of old age is reminiscing about our own dwelling places along life’s journey. Can you remember how the Lord went before you, preparing places for you to stay?  
Each house, each apartment, each adventurous move, each “camping spot” along the way—pre-planned by the Lord who loves us.
Our job, like the Israelites, has always been to trust his love. 
Many of my neighbors think we’ve reached our last stopping place.  After all, we have made the choice to downsize to a continuing-care retirement community here in sun-bright Florida. But in reality, one final move awaits us all--no matter where we live.
For this final move, we also have the promise of a prepared place. Someone who loves us and has led the way through all our journey— namely, Jesus himself—is now in the process of getting ready a permanent home for each of us.
Jesus assures us, “Don’t be troubled. You trust God, now trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you….When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” (John 14:1-3 NLT) 
We travel with the Lord who delights to prepare places for his beloved children. In our advanced years, the task remains the same as always—to trust his love.
©MarionSpeicherBrown

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 27, 2018 at 8:48 AM

    I love knowing that Jesus is getting things ready for Mom's arrival on the Other Side. Makes all the difference in my mother's final days with us. What a genuine comfort!

    ReplyDelete

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