Tuesday, July 15, 2008

One day soon

Today’s Reading: John 13:33(NIV)

33 [Jesus said,] “My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and, just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going you cannot come.”

Good morning!

“Daddy, take me with you!” I remember standing at the back screen door with tears streaming down my cheeks. I wanted to go with my father. Every week day morning at 6:30am, Daddy would walk out the back door of our home with his tool belt, lunchbox and thermos in hand, tossing his stuff into our family’s tan, four-door Chevrolet automobile. I could see him wave goodbye to Mommy and me from the back door. Daddy was gone all day long and I had no idea where he was going. One morning, I was determined to be ready and waiting when Daddy got up to leave. I put my raincoat and boats on over my pajamas. With hair still in rollers and my favorite doll tucked snugly underneath my arm, I made a makeshift bed with pillows just in front of Daddy’s bedroom door, and listened for the morning alarm clock to sound. When Daddy emerged from the bedroom that morning, he nearly tripped over my tiny body, sleeping peacefully on the hallway carpet. “I’m ready to go with you, Daddy!” I exclaimed with a yawn. He smiled, gave me a hug and said, “I wish I could take you with me, honey, but you cannot go with me today.” “Can I go with you tomorrow, Daddy?” I asked, wondering whether He would ever agree to let me tag along. Daddy bent over and kissed my cheek while patting my head. “One day, soon,” he whispered in my ear.

Jesus had spent the last three years of his life teaching about the kingdom of God. He formed close relationships with the twelve disciples who left everything to follow Him. Jesus cared for the women who daily cared for the needs of His mission team. They followed and listened to His every word, yearning to know and understand all that Christ said and did. More than anything else, they longed to go with Him, wherever He went. How totally devastating it must have been for his friends and family to hear Jesus say, “I am only with you for a little while longer… and where I am going, you cannot come.”

It was the coldest January day on record according to the National Weather Service in 1996. Daddy had carried the kitchen trash outside, walking across eight inches of frozen snow covering the back yard. When he didn’t come back inside, Mom peered out the back door to see if she could see where Daddy had disappeared. His footprints stopped short of the edge of our driveway, where Daddy had met Jesus Christ face to face. His earthly walk ended that evening in the new fallen snow. His someday with the Lord had come, as Daddy crossed over from this life’s journey into His eternal rest. How my mother longed to go with him that night; how she hated being left behind. Kneeling on the cold hard ground weeping, she heard the words of Jesus whisper in her heart, “One day, soon, honey.”

There will come a day when we will take the step that leads us from here to eternity. May Jesus Christ find us ready and waiting for Him when He returns one day soon.

Grace and peace,

Deb Spaulding

Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO

www.songofdeborah.com

___________________________

© Copyright 2008, Deb Spaulding

All rights reserved

Articles may not be printed in any “for profit” publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.

No comments: