Final Destination

One of the difficult things about having more than one child is trying to spend quality time with each one of them. I was blessed to have all four of my children and two grandsons with me a couple of weeks ago but I was struggling with trying to give each one individual attention. The most challenging is my third child Nathanael. Not that it’s difficult to be with him it’s just that he’s a teenager so he likes to stay up late and sleep most of the day. I on the other hand fall asleep early and wake up early. We decided to go to the movies for our mommy son time (don‘t tell him I said mommy.)This too is a task as he likes action packed movies and I’m a wimp. We settled on one we both could watch and off we went. Our first clue that we were in trouble was when we entered the theater and there were only eight people in it. The movie was so bad/weird that 2 of those people left during it. It was one of those times when you couldn't leave because you thought any minute the movie was going to get better. We kept looking at each other wondering how in the world they would even end this movie. When it was finally over the remaining people including me and Nathanael just sat there, no one spoke or moved for a moment. I think we were all asking ourselves the same thing. What the heck just happened here? I saw a woman in the bathroom after wards and asked her what she thought of the movie and she said “I’m not sure” that about summed it up. My son apologized because he had the final answer on which movie we saw. The other choice was Avatar which I’m sure was awesome. I told him not to worry but we were to speak of this to no one :) We had a good laugh and great conversation all the way home.
The next day while driving to work I was talking to Jesus about it, I felt bad that we didn't see Avatar so my son could have had more fun. Do you know what the Holy Spirit said to me? Glad you asked.
He said “the other movie no doubt would have been the more entertaining one but in the end your son would have looked back on the night and remembered the great movie, now he will look back and remember the great night he had with his mom.” How beautiful is that. And it’s so true, Nathanael would have shared with his friends all about the awesome movie and later may not even remember he saw it with me. God is so good.
I started thinking about other examples, like the time I was helping friends get ready for a fund raising event. We were all working in the auditorium of the church setting up and in the end it all looked great. The event was wonderful but when I think back on that time I realize the day before, getting ready with all the volunteers was the best part. Relationships were made and we had lots of laughs. The funny thing is I only have pictures of the day we were working and none of the actual night.
I think in our lives we tend to get so focused on the “where” we are going that we lose the joy of the getting there. Here is a quote I think sums up what I’m trying to say.
“After a time, you may find that "having" is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often
true.” Spock, “Amok Time", stardate 3372.7
There is so much that happens during the wanting time. You imagine how it will be when you get there. You make decisions and sacrifices that will get you closer to the destination. God puts people in your path to help you along the way. Most times you find yourself coming up short and you know it can only happen if God steps in. Your faith is made stronger, the Lord says in your weakness I am your strength. I truly believe God loves to show off and He loves for us to give him the opportunity to shine in our lives. Don’t be so anxious for the journey to be over that you miss all the attractions on the way.
When Nathanael and Jess were younger and I had very little money we would walk down town after the shops were closed and play a game called I see. We would look in the windows of the shops and take turns giving clues to what we were looking at and the other 2 had to guess what it was. The cool thing is even though we were outside looking in, the stores were empty so we saw so many things. One night Nathanael was so anxious to go to the next shop he was rushing us and I remember telling him “take your time, the next store will be there and we don’t want to miss something great in this one.”
I could look back on these nights and think, it really sucked we had no money to go buy stuff but I remember long walks with my children using our imaginations and seeing all kinds of cool stuff.
When Anthony and Amanda were young we lived in Virginia and we were really broke. It was so cold there and I couldn't afford to heat the house so we slept in the family room near the wood burning stove. I finally had someone lend me a kerosene heater and Anthony ended up falling on it and getting second and third degree burns on his arm. We had little food and most nights we ate popcorn for dinner.
I decided to make the best of it because I didn't want my kids to feel bad so I told them we were Indians and the popcorn was trail food. I had them help me gather wood from the “Indian fields” to keep the fire lit over night. We told stories snuggled up on the family room floor and were never far apart.
I could remember this time as a depressing one and rightfully so. I had no food to feed my kids and I worried they would be to cold but I remember us huddled in sleeping bags next to a wood fire eating Indian food and they were so excited to be playing this fun game with their mommy. If you were to ask them if we were poor during that time they would have no idea what you were talking about. Today I have such a strong bond with my oldest children because of what we went through on that part of our journey. We saw God provide for us in amazing ways.
When Paul was getting ready to leave this world he said.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7
I can only imagine what transpired during that race and the memories he took with him.
The Lord has a plan for each one of us and sometimes we are on a part of the journey that we don’t like much. Sometimes we are single longer than we want to be or sick longer or financially struggling longer than we want to be. I believe it’s during these times that we learn the most things, not only about God, but more importantly about our relationship with Him.
When John had the most profound vision which today we know as the book of Revelation he was a prisoner living on a remote island and He was 90 something years old! I’m sure when he told his family about that time he wasn't mentioning the lack of food or the unfairness of being a prisoner, John was talking about what God did.
God is never late and His timing is perfect. He has everything worked out for you.
So Gems I would encourage you to not put all your focus on the end result but each day look for the blessing God has for you. Or better yet the blessing you are made to be for someone else. Seek Him out daily and at the end of the day thank Him for it and for knowing you are one day closer to your next destination. The truth is until you get to Heaven it will be one destination after another but Oh what a final destination it will be!

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