On the Journey

   Last year around this time, I started gathering articles from my “Good News!” column in the Porterville Recorder that tied into the theme of being on a journey. Some of them were about our travels and others about various life experiences; all had a spiritual application.  

   Al provided plenty of encouragement at the beginning of this daunting project and soon the idea for a short devotional book called Good News! On the Journey was taking shape. The choice for a title was easy! I love the phrase “good news” not only because it is refreshing to hear reports that are uplifting and positive, but also because the gospel has made a great difference in my life, thanks to God’s grace and mercy. Because each of us is on a journey through life, it seemed appropriate to allude to that in the title.   

   Planning out the different aspects of our journey with Christ took more time.  I finally settled on ten important components which are integral to developing a close relationship with Him, things like being obedient, trusting God, reading the Bible, valuing time for prayer…and passing on the good news to others. This required organizing about 350 clippings from the newspaper over the past seven years and choosing the ones which seemed to fit.

    Finally in August, the document was finished and ready to self-publish. The only thing remaining to do was to find a suitable picture for the cover. Around the same time, an artist friend posted one of her watercolors online, a striking painting that had been inspired by a photo of refugees fleeing from their homes and seemed to fit the idea I was trying to convey. She granted permission to use it for the cover and helped me size it to meet the required dimensions.

   It was exciting to be able to use an original piece of artwork, especially from a close friend. When the first copies arrived, I was really overwhelmed.  The outcome of that project which had consumed so much of my time, energy, thoughts and emotions was far better than I had expected.  Praise the Lord!

   Little did I realize that all of this was  preparing me for a new stretch of my own spiritual journey. For one thing, Al and I hadn’t anticipated moving from our home of thirty years. When our friend, Ann Marie Bezayiff, heard that we had put it on the market, she said that she’d be praying for me on my “faith journey.” The word ‘journey’ rang a bell…somehow I had forgot about that with all of the details and sheer hard work involved in making such a move.

    Ann Marie was right—this was part of my journey and the good news was that Jesus was with me, helping me in the middle of it. It was a good reminder to walk by faith even while packing, saying good-bye to dear friends and family and then relocating in the middle of winter to Michigan. In addition to all of that was having a bad fall and then going through the process of recovering from a broken hip. A couple more chapters should have been included in the book, “Suffering” and “Perseverance!”

    No matter what life brings our way, it helps knowing that we are not alone. Jesus encountered

incredible persecution and endured great suffering as He carried the burden of our sins all of the way to the cross. His journey here on earth was climaxed by His resurrection after the crucifixion, making salvation and eternal life available to each one who believes in Jesus.

    Dear Father, Thank you for being the God “ever present!” And Jesus, you affirm to us each day, that you are with us and that we are not alone on this faith journey. Thank you! Amen!

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” Psalm 84:5-7 NIV