The Long Journey Home
My Grandmother lived across a field and a small section of woods from my house when I was growing up. It was a couple of miles if you walked by the road, but only about half a mile by foot across that field and through those woods.
One day, I decided that I wanted to go home before my mother came to pick me up and I headed out across that field. Everything was fine, until I reached the woods. I found that there was a wider arm of water rolling through those woods than I could jump. So, I followed it until I finally found a way across.
After about as long as it would have taken me to walk home by the highway, I took my first step into our back yard. My pants weighed a ton—saturated with mud and filthy water. My shoes squished, spurting water at least a foot in the air with each step. My shirt was splattered with the same muddy liquid that had covered my pants. I was sweaty, hot and tired.
It's a trip that's stuck in my mind for many years. I remember being a little afraid a few times that I wouldn't find a way across that wide span of water. I thought several times that I would have to turn back and face defeat. When I was finished, I remember being afraid that I'd never get my clothes clean and that my mother would be furious. But the thing that sticks out most at this particular moment and time is the feeling I had when I saw the house for the first time and there were no more obstacles between it and me. I can imagine how that air-conditioned haven must have felt to my sweat drenched face. I was dirty and tired when I got home, but I was home.
Sometimes life is hard, but it will all be worth it for the Christian when we see that shining City, no more obstacles in our way; when we step inside its gates and see the face of our Savior.
-Chad
3:02:20 PM 
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