One Saturday (April 4,
2020) after we’d been “sheltering in place” for over three weeks during the
coronavirus outbreak, I said to my husband, “I want to see our daughters and
their families. I can’t wait any longer.”
He said, “We’ll go this
afternoon.”
Jena and her family came out to greet us. We couldn’t hug them
or go inside their house, as we normally would have done. Instead, we stood on
their driveway and laughed and talked for about 15 minutes, careful to maintain
“social distance” (at least six feet apart).
After having been cooped
up indoors for days and days, we especially enjoyed the sunshine, the light and
variable breezes, the sight and smell of freshly cut grass, and the birds’ happy chirping.
When we arrived at our
other daughter’s house, Jennifer and her family, along with Chloe (their black Lab) came out to “visit” with us.
Seeing them looking so well and happy delighted us. We talked and laughed
together until we said reluctant goodbyes and headed home.
The following day, as I
listened via Facebook to a Sunday School lesson, a phrase in the familiar
Scripture passage the teacher read aloud stood out to me.
Why? Because of the joy I’d
experienced at being face to face with those dearest to me, I felt a deep appreciation
for the promise found in these words written centuries ago by the apostle John:
One day, God will take us
to the beautiful place He has prepared for us. We will live forever with
Him in that pain-and-problem-free environment.
As I thought about the
wonder of that, I realized anew that God has always loved His children and
longed for us. Genesis, the first book in the Bible, tells us that God created
a beautiful world and then created a man and a woman to enjoy it. Even though
they sinned and had to be banished from the Garden of Eden, God has never stopped
loving His children and longing to be in close relationship with them.
Story after story in the
Bible verifies that. The last book in the Bible promises that God and His
children will finally be together forever. That joy will be far greater than
the joy I felt when seeing my daughters and their families face to face.
