Monday, November 28, 2022
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Traveling on Thanksgiving weekend
Jesus said, “Many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus told his listeners that the doors to the Kingdom of heaven were open wide, not just to the Jews but to everyone. He befriended Samaritans, performed miracles for Gentiles of every stripe, and spoke out against the exclusivity of the Jewish religious elite. Jerusalem is not reserved for just a few nationals.
The Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her temple a smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night. And over all the Lord’s glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain.
The storm that dumped two inches of snow on Amarillo caught up with me in Arkansas. North of Little Rock heavy winds and intense winds blew all of us around the highway. I remembered my Route 66 trip across the Texas panhandle in March, same kind of weather. Cold, sheets of rain, wind, and then, as I pulled up to my cozy hotel room at the Big Texan steakhouse, the rain turned first to sleet and then to sheets of snow. But the food was great and the room was cozy.
The room was cozy Saturday night in Arkansas too, although my first room was already occupied. A guy my age opened the door, though, when he heard me scraping around outside. He’d been there for three weeks or so, maybe the management forgot about him. Anyway, I ended up with the room next door, warm, great bed, and I pulled my car right up to the door. Slept like a baby.
Good thing, because Thanksgiving traffic trouble was compounded by an accident south of Dallas, and I skipped around between highways and frontage roads for awhile, then just stopped for lunch. That was an excellent idea, at R&K Café II in Hillsboro, one of my favorite breakfast spots on the road between Illinois and Texas. Even Hillsboro’s main street was a strip of red on Google maps, so I sneaked up to the parking lot through a couple of alleys. Like I lived there Lunch was as good as breakfast: country-fried steak with three sides and a bunch of gravy.
After that the traffic didn’t bother me. I just cruised.
Because of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you!” And I will pray for your God.
I was a couple hours later than planned, but Miles and Jasper still piled up on me when I stopped at the Tomita house. Jasper was a Christmas pirate, so I threw him into the ocean. Well, into the couch, actually. And we tickled each other over and over. Miles tried on a Christmas tree we made last year when Chris and Melissa, Jack and Aly came for our Thanksmas, and Jasper joined him. They fit fine, but they had trouble walking blind together. Crash!
When I got back to our apartment, it was quiet, it was peaceful. The bed was made, and I turned down the covers. It was cozy.
Luckily, there were no parking places in front of our apartment, so I’ll have to wait till tomorrow to unpack our car. Which is full of Christmas decorations, Mom’s Christmas tree, an amazing big nativity set we found at Salt and Light … where are we going to put all of this stuff?
May those who love you prosper. May peace be within your walls, prosperity in your buildings.
God will help us figure it out. As our Pastor Matt said a couple of weeks ago, we just “wait till we see what God can do.” No rush. God loves Christmas.
71 degrees and sunny on Monday in Austin. Maybe we’ll fly a kite.
(Isaiah 4, Psalm 122, Psalm 80, Matthew 8)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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