Still packing….

 Still packing…

It seems like my suitcase has become a permanent fixture in my bedroom, ready at a day’s notice to go somewhere, anywhere…it has been packed and unpacked several times in the last two years…it doesn’t have the freedom to go anywhere that it once did…more considerations, with the times we are living in right now…911 changed so much in travel, then this pandemic going on three years changed travel radically again…the freedoms of travel wherever we wanted, held dearly have been more stringently scrutinized….and add aging to the mix, ugh…another limitation…

When I wrote this blog in 2013, I had travelled to the New England states ending in Quebec City, toured New York City, visited my father in central California, and just returned from Australia/New Zealand…

I didn’t know it at the time, but within a month, my father would be joining me in my home for the last time…

He would bring all of his worldly goods with him and be gone in two months…leaving behind a legacy of story telling, family, tree farming, travels with my children….I wasn’t ready for him to pack it all in, so to speak, we had talked about traveling as well…but his “suitcases” were empty and not prepared anymore…he had traveled enough…

I have traveled many miles since then…fun-filled, amazing sights, amazing people…walked where Jesus walked, seen what ancient people or pioneers saw…observed smiles from the Jesus Film presentations or Operation Christmas Child boxes,   watched many sunrises and sunsets…walked many miles…even worn through a couple of those suitcases….God has been so good in those preparations and travel…thank YOU…

And I had just finished my first Griefshare class…one of many since then…

May 31, 2013

“Packing a suit case...

 

When I am getting ready to travel, it takes several days to pack. Not that there is that much, but I want what is needed for that particular trip, not too much, just the right amount. Not too much weight as I  have to carry it, or roll it as the case may be...( I have switched from two wheel drive to four wheel drive this year with my suitcases, though...much easier)

 

On a longer journey, I lookup the weather and adjust my clothing for that climate or the itinerary . What will it be like, what are the activities be?  It is casual , dress up?

I try to pack as many easy wash items as possible  so that I don't have to spend time at the laundry or will they do the laundry for me?

 

Preparation....a key task, in preparing for the journey...

 

What do I need in life's journey???? Who will I meet, what are the events..

In 2 Timothy 4, Paul exhorts Timothy to be prepared in season and put of season......

 

Throughout scripture the word "prepared" is used 79 times, people prepared for battle, they prepared meals, 

God prepared various things, times....each event, seems to be a thoughtful planned out time..preparing...getting ready for.....

 Again,  what do I need on life's journey ?

 

God ' s view of life

His Word

His care

His provision 

His view

His fruit

His pruning

 

Openness to His preparations for my life....not my own all the time...

 

1 Corinthians 2:9

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—

 

Now I need to go pack that suitcase for a journey...

 

Traveling through grief---

Grief causes growth like nothing else we know of. It reorders priorities and life values. It helps us appreciate the goodness of the smaller things found in each day, of children playing and nature all around .......”