Out Our Way: No more moving! - Revelation 21:1-4

Out our way, I got to enjoy riding the same trails on the Tiger Ridge with Charlie. I always found something new to see and at which to marvel, but there was a sense of being home, for wherever we rode we knew where we were. There was a sense of belonging and comfort as we settled into our "home on the range." It was all familiar but never boring. There is something relaxing and comforting about being home. 

Over the past few years, my son and I have done some moving - from Montana to Colorado and from an apartment complex into a house. Each move has been positive, but each has also left us with a sense of discomfort as we have to get used to the new "home." None of it is yet familiar, and so I still feel like a stranger for a time until I settle in and the new place simply becomes home.

This was a hard move, as I had to haul boxes of clothing, books, and other odds and ends down the stairs of the apartment complex as the movers I hired hauled the furniture. They finished their job within two hours, but it took me the rest of the day to finish what they had not done. When I finally climbed into bed in a strange room, I found sleep hard to come by - and, being an old guy, needed to get up to find the facilities in the dark. I had trouble finding the door and the light switch, and then banged into things on the way back to bed. When I awoke at dawn, I felt lost, for it all seemed so strange. I have no doubt that this new place will soon become home, but in the meantime I stumble over crates and boxes and piles of odds and ends lying about that have yet to find their place. I hope I never have to move again until the final move.

Others will have to deal with hauling and carrying what I leave behind - as this last time I will travel light. I won't need to haul my "stuff," including this worn out old body - others will have to handle those items - as the Boss has promised the "new house" will be fully furnished. Some will have well-deserved mansions, but I expect something more my size and taste. A small ranch house - along with a small ranch for me and Doc and the dogs. But most importantly, it will be home from the get-go. 

Paul spoke of it in 1 Corinthians 13, especially verse 12. He wrote about knowing fully even as we are known. Up over the ridge and into the home pasture and there will be home. We will know it immediately there will be no strangeness about it, for though we have just arrived, the sense of always having belonged there will be without question. Home sweet home. And no more moves!

I figure this present life is the trail the Boss gave me to ride, and as I look in the mirror and see "Gabby Hayes" looking back - you old timers know who that is, and you youngsters can google him - I know I am on the homeward trail. I don't intend to move again in this life - and my boys will have to dispose of the junk I leave behind when I make the last move. I won't be needing it.

Folks talk about mansions and streets of gold and such - but I think there will also be places of open prairie, meadowlarks singing, sage perfuming the air. Of course I am guessing. The Boss didn't give us much information about the last move except to assure us that we, who rode for His brand, can expect a joyful homecoming. And no more moves!

Blessings!

--

Brother John Bruington