My human family and I recently went on a migration to a far-flung place called ‘Cumbria.’ And to get there, we hired a type of ‘magic bus’ called a VW Campervan. Not only was it a kind of moving room on wheels; it had a roof that could go up into the air to create more headspace. It had seats that converted into beds. And it came equipped with fire and water to allow my humans to do their cooking and washing up.
I have to admit that the ‘magic bus’ was a bit of a squeeze inside, so my flying space had to be rather curtailed. But my human family knew that I would much rather travel with them and be cramped, than remain at home with all the space in the world, but with some strange humanoid looking after me.
The mountains of Cumbria were all very splendid, but it proved to be a much busier place than where we live in Devon, and in the end, we were very happy to return back home. At least, that’s what we thought when we all set off. But getting back proved to be something of a challenge. Because thousands and thousands of humans appeared from nowhere, all wanting to migrate at the same time as us. I reckon I should call it a ‘HuMurmuration’, except that instead of propelling themselves through the air, these humans were driving motorised rooms on tracks of tarmac. And because there were so many of them, nobody got very far at all. Traffic jam led on to traffic jam. And as we slowly inched our way Southwards, the morning became the afternoon, and then the afternoon became the evening. It was a migration which seemed to endure for ever. Everyone felt tired and hungry and uncomfortably cramped. But just as morale was beginning to drop, my owner said this:
“All we can do is go with the flow; however long it takes, we’ll get home in the end!”
And he was right. Some nine hours later, I was back in the familiar setting of our family kitchen. And boy, was I happy to be there!
And you know, our journey through life can be very much the same. Things don’t always happen as we would like. We can be confronted by challenges and obstacles and trials and frustrations. But if we simply keep going with the flow of our faith, we will ultimately arrive at the most wonderful place of all, -a place called Heaven. And Jesus never promised that the journey would be easy, but He knew that the arrival would make everything worthwhile!
“My home is in heaven. I’m just travelling through this world.”
(Billy Graham: [1918-2018]: Prominent American evangelist, Christian public speaker and author)
“There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”
(Charles Spurgeon: [1834-1892]: English Baptist Minister, still referred to today as ‘The Prince of Preachers’)
“How sweet is rest after fatigue! How sweet will heaven be when our journey is ended.”
(George Whitefield: [1714-1770]: English Anglican Minister and preacher who was one of the founders of the Methodist movement)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
“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.”
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