Destinations

Everyone has a destination.  It may be something of one’s imagination, unknown to others, mythical in many of its forms.  Alternatively, for some it is a destination just beyond one’s reach.  Ever changing, never quite attainable, shaping everything that one holds as important.  Even the names change; from money and power through peace and happiness and on to points unknown. 
I continue to have the good fortune of experiencing an incredible variety of this world’s cultures.  I find that when I am asked where I would like to go on my ideal vacation, there is always the same answer unvoiced.  I’d like to be anywhere with those I hold close to my heart.  It is the people that matter more than the destination.  It is the relationships that take precedence over the scenery.  It is the time spent in conversation that is truly priceless.
Far too often I find myself trying to be somewhere I am not.  The incredible example is that you and I have a God that lives resolutely in the present.  It is not just a one-time event, God has always found a way to be available, focused, and paying attention to what was needed.  As Divinity looks on, the comment then and now remains the same. “Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly—the best of everything, the highest honors—because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest.  He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.”  (Isaiah 53.12)
Perhaps I can add something to my perfect place to be, service.  A perfect destination is anywhere with those close to my heart, being in service, living in the present.  The potential is incredible!  We can be in that spot at any time and place of our choosing.  Even when life overwhelms, we can reach out in service to the individuals in God’s family and ours.  A perfect day can begin the dawn, no matter what is going on.  The choice, as always, is ours.