The Promised Land. If you’ve been following my daily writings, you know that our life has been filled with a season of what might be considered “endless wandering,” as we were looking for our new hom…

[Maryanne Winder Lester]

The Promised Land.

If you’ve been following my daily writings, you know that our life has been filled with a season of what might be considered “endless wandering,” as we were looking for our new home. We knew we had to leave point A and arrive at point B. But we have truly learned that what is most important is the journey, not the destination. Our Bishop explained that the way we handled ourselves during this journey would be what determined the destination. Like Israel, I was stubborn, allowed my faith in God to waver and worshipped the idols of material possessions. But I finally surrendered to the will of God. I trusted in God and put it in His hands, I was willing to sacrifice our family home. As soon as that happened, we found our Canaan. We have been freed from the Egyptians, parted the Red Sea, struggled in the Wilderness and have now arrived in the Promised Land. We looked for 40 days to find the new home that God has given us. Yesterday, we took possession. “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’” Numbers 14:8.

To honor our God and Father, we will plant a fig tree and grape vines in our Garden of Eden behind our home. And above our front door, we will engrave the Scripture from Numbers 14:8 so that all who enter our home will see the glory of the Lord. How great is our God!

Packing begins today. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” We will leave behind many of our material possessions as they are no longer needed in this new land. Some of these possessions have already literally rusted and become moth-eaten. They should have been thrown away long ago! And many of these items represent our rebellion against God, being part of our lives before we received our Salvation through Jesus Christ. Some of our things we will give to our brothers and sisters in Christ who may have need of them. And, some things we will sell as Jesus commanded. Truly, I have been broken of my selfish needs to possess a multitude of designer clothing and shoes! The Holy Spirit has given me a glimpse of how this new home will be decorated. It will not be cluttered with unnecessary trivial items. The closets will not be bursting at the seams with clothing I will never wear. God has even shown me, with His sense of humor, that I need to get rid of many sets of dishes. The kitchen cabinets have glass fronts!

I’ve made lists of things to do, because everything must be done in order. That is God’s way. Change of address with post office, bank, voter’s registration, doctors, pharmacy, friends and family. Reserve the truck, get boxes, tape, bubble wrap and new cleaning supplies. Utility transfers. And every time I finish one of the items on my list, I check it off and say, “It is good.”

I let my mother sit back and do absolutely nothing, although I may let her fill a couple of boxes with her clothing. “Honor you father and mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12. This move is to honor my mother. We have no idea how many days or years she has left to walk on this earth. Only God knows that. But I will always honor her and take care of her as long as God allows. And when the time comes for God to call her home, my husband and I will continue to honor her as we grow old together in our Promised Land, the land which the Lord our God has given us.

This is my prayer,

Heavenly Father,

You are the Great Provider. We thank you for bringing us through our Wilderness Journey and into our Promised Land. Thank you for the trials and tribulations we have experienced on this journey as we have grown closer to You because of them. We ask that You allow this testimony to proclaim Your glory so others can see Your promise. Please forgive me for ever doubting Your great love and mercy. You are the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega and forever I will praise Your holy name.

Thank you for the greatest sacrifice, Your Son, Jesus; in Who’s name I pray,

Amen.

Maryanne Winder Lester 4/28/2010