Packing

It has been just over a year since our daughter moved 1,200 miles south to Georgia.  I still remember the preparations for that day.  I spent weeks getting myself ready for the move and I wasn’t even going to be one of the travelers.   Each day I would wake early and immediately begin my packing training.  I would open up my old laptop and launch the vintage Tetris app and begin stacking blocks, section by section, faster and faster.  After these weeks of grueling workouts the day before her departure arrived. I took my position before the 2008 Ford Fusion, I cracked my neck and commanded, “Bring me the luggage!”

With the ear-worming Tetris theme music rolling between my ears, I twisted and shifted the boxes, suitcases and hair dryers to fill all possible spaces. Once finished, I sat down with my wife to begin stage two of the preparations.

Sarah and I laid out the maps of each state that would be traversed before us.  With highlighter in hand, we plotted and traced every road which would be taken. I quizzed her on the route, including where she and our daughter would be spending their night in Louisville, KY. 

Once all of the prep work was completed, I loaded to two most precious packages into the ruby red sedan, my wife and our first born child. 

At this point these two women pulled out of the drive way to endeavor the 21 plus hour journey across the country.

I am reminded of their journey as I read Matthew 24:15-29.  Here Jesus delivers a number of clues that he wants us to be made aware of on our life journeys.  He does not give us every detail.  Even as my wife and daughter knew the clear route that they were to take, they were not aware of the obstacles that they would face in the form of torrential rains, road construction and unexpected detours.  Yet, they knew what they needed to know. 

Jesus does not give us all of the details, but he does reveal clearly of what we are to expect.  We are to expect challenges and an eternal hope for those who trust him in this journey.

May we come to find comfort in the journey that lay ahead, keeping our eye on the eternal hope and not on the unknown details.