It was] a place I could have stayed forever. How many times I have found such campsites! Place so beautiful it gave a man the wistfuls to see or to think back on. So many times we said, ‘We’ve got to come back some time!’ an’ knowin’ all the while we never would.”
–Louis L’Amour (Lonely on the Mountain)
“But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
–Hebrews 11:16 (NLT)
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I have always liked to travel this land of ours. No matter where you go there is something to be said about the type of land, whether it is the dry, crusty, rock-strewn deserts with their own peculiar type of beauty, or the grand peaks of the Rockies. It may be the rolling hills or the open plains with the wind blowing across the grass or acres of wheat.
Often I have thought of what it would be like to travel some of the old trails. It would be grand to travel either on horseback or by shanks mare the trail of Lewis and Clark, or up the Natchez Trail, or along the Oregon Trail. It would be impossible today thanks to modern technology and the encroachment of man. Fences, roads, rivers, and other obstacles stand in the way. But, that doesn’t mean in my travels I haven’t thought of doing it.
There are many places in our travels that we have stopped to gaze on the wondrous beauty of God’s great cathedral. Annie and I have often remarked that we must come to this place again, and yet, there are still some places in this great country that I still want to see. I want to see the waves crash along the coast of Maine. I want to visit the headwaters of the Mississippi. I want to see the Columbia as it courses toward the sea. Oh, I could go on and on.
In my old age, I may not have much money, but I have memories. I can clearly see Kimberly underneath a table playing in the dirt at Lake San Cristobal. I can remember Shauna, as we walked through Yellowstone saying that it was “stinky water.” It is etched of the fishing trip at Brainard Lake where I couldn’t even get a line in the water as the kids were catching fish so fast. Ahhh, memories, they are precious.
We have those spiritual memories as well in our journey toward the “Promised Land.” Have you ever noticed that people, when they go to the altar (if they still have them in their church) tend to go to the same place and do the same “ritual.” That’s because God blessed them on one occasion and they have to get just in the same position so He can bless them again. The thing is, He has something else for them. They just don’t want to accept that He might bless them in a different way.
Enjoy the campsites of your life, whether they be physical or spiritual. However, never lose site of the fact that there is a city and a home prepared for those who follow the Lord. Don’t stray from that journey.