“Afterward I will return and restore the fallen house of David. I will rebuild its ruins and restore it…”

I read with fascination of the one-year into space journey that astronaut Scott Kelly will be taking.  He sounded in an interview so nonchalant about it all, but it has to affect him in that he is leaving his family behind for that long.  I was with a childhood friend this past weekend who now does heavy industry mill-crafting work and he was leaving this week for a five month job that he only gets to come home on the weekends.  You could see in his face how much he wasn’t looking forward to the time away. Whether it is one year, five months, a week or a few days, we all have our tolerance to how long is too long a trip away.  In today’s world, traveling and being way from home is normal, but each and every time a trip is scheduled, we might want to consider; what is the impact on the person and their families?  Sometimes, we might need to intervene to be sure that we are doing the right thing by letting the travel happen, or do we need to moderate their (or our) time away?

Jesus left the earth and told His disciples and all of us that He will return.  We don’t know when, but I know I live in hope that He could return within my lifetime.  How cool would that be?  But even if that doesn’t happen we can start each day with the anticipation and promise that He will return AND that He will be waiting for us if we get to Him first.  Let’s go at this day with the anticipation like of a welcoming or being welcomed home after a long trip away!

Reference:  Acts 15:16 (New Living Translation)