Going Home
"But store up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal." - Matthew 6:19-21
Every morning at school at 8:05AM, all of the teachers and staff form a circle. One member of the group shares something that God has put on his or her heart - a Scripture, song, prayer, or insight. It’s been such a blessing to hear the hearts of others here. This week, I had a chance to lead the circle time. I felt that I should share Jesus’ final hours the night before He was crucified, as he was in prayer (John 17). He knew that the end had come, and he was nearing his own death. In his final moments, he prayed for you and me.
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
He prayed for us to know the Father. Later in the same chapter, He prayed for his people to be united, just as we stand together in a circle each morning at VVA - as a united body of believers. I was struck that, even in His suffering and death, He prayed for us to have life. Not just that, He knew what eternal life was and He wants all of us to have it. It’s so good to remember that life is not summed up by what we experience on this sinful, broken, painful earth. Our treasures are in Heaven - and the time we get here on this earth with others, in service to God, with the Holy Spirit indwelling, is like a bonus blessing.
My grandmother was faithful to God, a hard worker and a servant to God, to her family and many others. She had been given long life and with it, the blessings of wisdom and perspective. Recently she had a terrible head injury and never recovered. It led to her slowly losing much of her understanding and cognitive ability. As she neared the end of her life here on earth recently, she began to repeat the phrase, “Let’s go! We need to go!” She was quite adamant and even irritated that it seemed nobody was listening. When asked where she wanted to go, she said wanted to go to Heaven - go Home. Heaven was waiting on her, and she was ready. She had stored her treasure there for 93 great years. Let’s go home.
Thom, the kids, and I traveled back home to Alabama in early December to see my dad in his final hours. We were blessed to be able to be there with him before he passed on. He also was able to go home. After battling mental and physical illness for many years, I celebrated with him that he was able to walk into his new home without any of those things. No isolation, no sadness, no confusion, no pain. Only the joy of being with Jesus. The home that God has prepared for us is a perfect one.
Thankfully, we get to experience pieces of this Home here on earth. For example, we have experienced so much love and support from others during this difficult time. Some drove many hours to be by our side as we said goodbye to Dad. Others gave up their home to allow us to stay for days on end, providing food, prayers, words of encouragement, etc. These acts of kindness and service to us are glimpses of the Father - of what life is like at Home. I am so grateful to all of you for the love you have shown us.
We were blessed to spend time in our Alabama home(s) with our families and friends for a time. Now, we are back in our home in Musanze. Coming back to Rwanda from the U.S. overall went smoothly, though the jet lag was difficult! We just ended our second week of school and are happy to be working again with the amazing people who attend and work at VVA, as well as our other Rwandan friends and church family here. May we all remember where our Home is - and keep this perspective as we face this life now. May we all be united together so the world will know who Jesus is.
More posts coming soon! (There are so many blogs in our heads! We just can’t keep up with typing them!) We send love to you all.