By Carol Round – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going”—John 14:1-4 (NIV).
As I was returning from a visit to Kansas City, Missouri, where my sister lives, I reflected on how many times I’ve moved in my lifetime. My life began in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where I was the oldest of two. My parents rented a house there before purchasing a home in a new housing addition.
Looking back, I can see God’s fingerprints all over my life. Although my parents grew up attending church, they drifted away after getting married and leaving Oklahoma.
Just down the street from our new house was a small church. Eventually, when we were older, probably in elementary school, my sister and I began walking to church with other neighborhood children. There, in that tiny building, we received the foundation we would need as we grew in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Moving Closer to Jesus
When I was almost 16, our family relocated to my mother’s hometown in northeastern Oklahoma, where my sister and I found another small church to attend. Later, my mother began attending services as well.
Since then, I’ve moved fourteen times in the last 56 years. Five of those moves were to different locations in the last 24 years. Moving to a different house during those almost 25 years was not part of my plan. Instead, they were Holy Spirit-led.
As I’ve drawn closer to Jesus, material things no longer matter to me. Each time, before moving, I’ve given away items to friends and family, or donated to charities, those possessions that keep me from enjoying a life filled with joy. When we own things, they require our attention; we either dust them, wash them, recharge them, or maintain them in some way.
A Life Filled with Joy
If you’ve ever been away from home for any length of time, you know the sense of peace when you return to your own house. As I think about all the places I’ve lived in my lifetime so far, I recall each offered a roof over my head, running water, electricity, and other amenities. But I have a longing now for my permanent home in heaven, where my joy will be fulfilled when I meet my Jesus face-to-face.
Earthly residences are only temporary. Our eternal dwelling place is ready. He has already prepared a place for each of us. We won’t have to pack a suitcase, box up possessions, or hire a moving company because we will have no need for them.
Evangelist Billy Graham once said, “My home is in heaven. I am just passing through this world.” But before we return home, we still have Kingdom work to do, work that brings people to Christ so that they, too, might find their citizenship in heaven.
I always love hearing from my readers. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with your thoughts or visit my blog for more inspiration at www.carolaround.com. If you need a speaker or workshop leader, contact me at the above e-mail address or through my website. I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Photo by Daniel Barnes on Unsplash
