This is our last weekend in Beijing before we fly back to visit our family, friends and loved ones in Texas. It will be a long flight (16hrs) and we will only stay for two weeks. We made sure the ticket destination was correct, and we know when we will leave. The tickets were expensive, but I didn’t have to pay for them. We just need to make sure we are ready to go. We have taken many of these “Rest and Relaxation” trips in our 14 years with the State Department, but next year we will retire, and this is our final one. This time we just needed a break, want to love-on our family and get a little taste of home.
There are a few things we want to take care of while we are home, so we need to prepare. We don’t have to prepare for things like hugging our precious grandchildren or eating Mexican food and biscuits and gravy for me. Our family has a place for us to stay, so we don’t have to worry about that. I made a list of things we must do, so we don’t forget anything in our excitement. Before we go, we will say our goodbyes to our close friends, who are leaving for their next assignment. I will work another week and have a lot of last-minute things to take care of there. The final and most important thing we must do is to make sure we get on board the right flight that will take us home.
There is another trip we need to prepare for. We don’t know when that trip will be, but it will be our last one. Our preparation for that journey determines our destination. Our tickets have already been purchased for one destination at great expense, but we don’t have to pay for them. Those tickets will take us to a place that is “exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or even think” (Eph 3:20). A place has been prepared for us, so we don’t have to worry about that. We have work to do before we leave, but we must accept those free tickets before the offer expires. The final trip will be into eternity. The trip begins when we die. If we have accepted JESUS as our Savior, we will go to Heaven, if we didn’t, we will go to Hell.
Wayne Lance (2015) – That’s Good News to Share!