A Pilgrim's Anticipation

We've entered a season of anticipation for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  I love every bit of Thanksgiving, including the smells and tastes of the food, the focus on gratitude and some time to rest and enjoy the finer things in life..... family, food, and sadly, much football.  Go Commodores!  However, upon return from the break, we will have a unit on the Grinch to kick off the winter holiday season.  This is fitting as my attitude and anticipation of Christmas resembles the Grinch, considering the commercialization involved in celebrating the incarnation of our Lord.  Even Santa makes me grumpy as he represents all that is greedy and indulgent in our culture.  But I digress.....

This week in kindergarten we covered the pilgrims' voyage to the new world, including their desire for religious freedom,  the conditions of the ship (with just over 100 passengers for 66 days) and the storms and struggles during the journey.  We simulated the dimensions of the Mayflower in the hallway and collected all 120 kindergarteners and 6 teachers to discuss living in close quarters for longer than our current days in school.  We brought traveling "trunks" to class with just a handful of important items to help on the journey to America.  In a five year old friendly way, we made it real and personal without making it too dark for them.  They learned that half of the passengers died during that first harsh winter and that the trip across the ocean was very difficult.  We wrote about what we would think or say if we were on the boat.  Some of the responses included: "It is cold."..... "I feel sick.".... and "I do not like this ship. It is stinky and scary." 

While the school days have included considering the pilgrims' anticipation of a new world and their endurance on the challenging journey, my early mornings have been spent reading through family lines in 1 Chronicles and our evenings have included hours and hours of family home videos recently converted from VHS.  The footage shows all of my grandparents, my mother-in-law, father-in-law and my Dad.  All of them have all left this world and entered eternity with our Lord.  The Bible readings of genealogies have been a tough slog, but our own family genealogy has been a passion of mine in previous decades.  I created history books for each of our girls.  With over a century of stories and individuals included in them, only my Mom is still living.  The video clips of my heritage, including lots of Thanksgiving and Christmas memories, have reminded me that we are all pilgrims in this world.  Granted, I'm a very spoiled and blessed pilgrim with no understanding the physical hardship of those traveling on the Mayflower, but I struggle each day with sin and spiritual attacks on my faith and I live in anticipation of a new world and my citizenship in heaven.

As I've read (and felt bogged down) in Kings and Chronicles, I've also been encouraged while reading through Hebrews.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  For by it the people of old received their commendation.  By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible."..........

"These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city."   excerpts from Hebrews 11

For over a year, Kyle has been preaching through Revelation on Sunday mornings.  We've covered dark and intense assaults on the people of God as pilgrims in this land.  Teaching children's church has been a challenge to say the least.  Tomorrow morning, we have the blessing of hearing a sermon from Revelation 22 where we will consider the end of the story and this new city of God. As a fellow pilgrim, I anticipate the new heaven and the new earth and joining loved ones who have gone before me in worship around the throne of God.

"The angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city....... No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads.  And night will be no more.  They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever."