A Mysterious Journey, A Certain Destination

A few months ago, Ann and I celebrated our 25^th wedding anniversary.    We have been through moves to new churches to serve and to new homes… seeing children grow to adulthood… and celebrating weddings of our children and the birth of our grandchildren.     One of the things that we have done most every year of our marriage is go on a secret trip.   Most every year,  I will plan for a trip with just Ann and I to a secret destination.     We have gone north, south, east, and west… to big cities and high mountains… down to the coast and to places we have never seen before.   Though Ann does not know what is our destination until the day we depart,  I try to provide some guidance to assist in her preparation.   She knows how many days we will be gone,   what kind of clothes she needs to pack, and whether the weather there will be warm or cold.   This secret trip requires for Ann to have trust in me, and I try to fulfill the first point of the Boy Scout law and to be trustworthy.  

I share this personal anecdote to make a point and that point is this:  WE ARE ON A JOURNEY IN LIFE AND MORE TIMES THAN NOT WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING.   Oh, yes we have our plans and dreams and may be working our plan.   However, life has taught me that it is not unusual for something to happen and those plans  to change (sometimes for the better.)    30 years ago, I certainly did not have as one of my goals to be married to  a beautiful, wonderful woman like Ann Wall.   Yet, here I am 25 years later married to a woman who is a gracious gift of God.   

 In Genesis 12, we hear the story of the call of Abraham.     Hebrews 11:8 says this about the call of Abraham: ⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.   Despite our goals and dreams, we never know where the path of life will take.     Yet, we can live with confidence in a God who is faithful and who walks  with us.       Thanks be to God.    Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

PRAYER --  O God,  thank you  that though we do not know the future, we know you and can trust you are with us each day of our lives.    Amid the challenges of each day, help us to trust you more;   through Jesus Christ our Lord.   Amen.