Dear
Fellow Children of God,
Perhaps you know that Kathy and
I recently completed an epic drive. We
drove 4641 miles from Palmer, Alaska, to Gainesville, FL. For the most part, it was a great trip. But, we did not always agree on EVERYTHING
during our nine days on the road. One
area where we had different ideas was how far to drive in a day. For the first few days we followed the
itinerary of a friend. But, their route
went to Arizona. Our trip took us
southeast to Florida. As we followed different
roads, I tended to drive a little further.
One day Kathy exclaimed, “You
keep telling others, ‘We’re not going to kill ourselves,’ but we sure have long
days.” I responded, “We haven’t driven
1000 miles in a day, have we?” (I used to drive that way in college, and even on
a trip with my son, Josh.) “So that’s the definition of not killing ourselves,
driving less than 1000 miles?” Kathy exclaimed.
I thought I responded somewhat innocently, though I now find out that I
am wrong. I asked Kathy, “How many times did we drive from Florida to visit your
family in Memphis? That’s 700 miles.” Kathy responded, “I should have checked
definitions about ‘killing ourselves’ before we left.” Maybe we should have talked about this topic BEFORE
we traveled.
We took pictures along to way
and posted the photos on Facebook. When
our odometer reached 2500 miles into the trip we posted a picture from the
fields of Saskatchewan. My brother,
Stephen, commented, “Looks like you still like each other.”
We did drive a lot of miles each
day. The shortest distance was the 250
miles we drove to Tok, AK, when we started out.
But, as we drove, I experienced the trip with my best friend, with my wife. Not only did we take this trip together, but we
also brought our Lord with us. We experienced God’s creation along the way. We saw beautiful scenery and, especially in
northern Canada, we saw LOTS of wildlife. Part of the creation we also saw was miles and
miles of fields with many different crops.
We saw wheat, and corn, canola and soybeans, sunflowers and cotton, and
. . . you get the idea. We saw LOTS of
crops!
We also visited with some
of our friends along the way. (On the trip
back to AK perhaps we can drive more slowly and visit more friends.) We stopped in Niagra, North Dakota, to visit
Pastor Denny and Sue Neels. In Chattanooga
we spent time with another long-time church friend, Jo Parham.
We also experienced our
Lord’s protection. Twice other drivers dangerously
cut in front of us. However, where they
were thinking about speed, or dangerous driving, our Lord worked safety. Both
in Illinois and in Georgia, we escaped with just a scare.
God promises to be with
us in our journeys. In Psalm 119:105, the
psalmist wrote, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my
path.” God guides our journeys with His word. We
bought an atlas. God’s Word is our map.
Our Lord promises His protection. In
Psalm 121:8, He tells us, “the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.”
In fact, Jesus tells us
that He is the road to our ultimate destination, to heaven. “’4 You know the way to the place where I am going.’
5 Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we
know the way?’ 6 Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:4-6) Jesus is THE WAY
because He died to forgive our sins and rose to win eternal life for all who
believe.
Life is a journey, a
journey through failures and accomplishments, through laughter and tears, a
journey through life and death. When we
travel with loved ones, when we travel with Jesus, the journey is an
opportunity to grow in faith and love.
As you travel through life, May God go with you! “Vaya con dios!”
A Child of God, Enjoying
the Journey of Life With Jesus and My Loved Ones!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Kathy and I drove from Alaska to Florida so
that I might temporarily fill a vacancy at First Lutheran Church, in
Gainesville. I grew up at First
Lutheran, and that is where we primarily worship when we visit Florida. We left on our trip after church on September
3. We arrived in Gainesville on Monday,
September 11 after 4641 miles. Here are
some pictures of the whole trip.
·
Last Family Day.
We weren’t all together at one time, but we did gather on Sunday, August
27 for oven fried chicken and family time.
Jackson and Kendall came out during the week, and Tim and Megan both
made it out as well. Here are some
pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/VdxnTE4bveSsXC5i7
·
Preparation Day, September 2 (A last minute
visit to Hatcher Pass), https://photos.app.goo.gl/x356dsRqABVoMzp28
·
Day 1, Palmer to Tok, (Our get away) September
3, https://photos.app.goo.gl/pYk6NV3gzbjfgHin9
·
Day 2, Tok, AK, to Whitehorse,YT (The worst
roads). https://photos.app.goo.gl/tcib74Zd9CMZnvBN6
·
Day 3, Whitehorse, YT, to Ft. Nelson,
BC. (A Day of Waters and Wildlife) https://photos.app.goo.gl/JMGN8UoVTRaB31Au8
·
Day 4- Ft.. Nelson, BC, to Wainwright, SK https://photos.app.goo.gl/cXYpxMe5j2S8eUmx6
·
Day 5 – Wainwright, SK, to Niagra, ND.
·
Day 6 – Rest and visit with Pastor Denny and Sue
Neels. https://photos.app.goo.gl/iciM42P7PeaUdbSp6
·
Day 7 – Niagra, ND, to East Moline, IL.
·
Day 8 – East Moline, Illinois to Chattanooga, TN. https://photos.app.goo.gl/j5VkYYj44vJLjAxJ8
·
Day 9 – Chattanooga, TN, to Gainesville, FL. Trip Finished. https://photos.app.goo.gl/oNpNgVsok4aKjFfy7
P.P.P.S. FOR YOUR CALENDAR in October 2024: I was asked to serve for 2 weeks at the
Wittenberg English Ministry in Wittenberg Germany. I tentatively agreed to serve there and to
lead worship October 17-31 (Reformation Day), 2024. MAYBE you want to come over to Germany at
that time??? J
*******
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I retired
at the end of August 2019 from serving as senior full-time pastor of St. John Lutheran Church
in Palmer, AK. I was writing a weekly
devotion previously entitled, "Thoughts from the Pastor." When I retired many asked me to continue
writing these devotions. So I have
continued writing. However, with life's
changes I now call this weekly devotion "Journeys Through Life as a Child
of God." Since I am no longer
senior pastor at St. John, I felt it right to only send this message to those
who asked to receive it. (Currently I am
serving as Vacancy Pastor for First Lutheran Church in Gainesville, FL.)
So, if you stopped receiving these
devotions and wondered why, now you understand.
And, if you are now receiving these devotions and do not wish to receive
them, please let me know, and I’ll gladly remove your name from my distribution
list. My e-mail address is
jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer is that these devotions help
each of you in your daily walk with our Lord, Jesus.
*******
Jonathan Rockey
Child of God
Husband, Father, Son, Grandfather
Pastor Emeritus, St. John
Lutheran Church
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
No comments:
Post a Comment