Pilgrimage
(Psalms 84:4) How happy are those who reside in Your house, who praise You continually. Selah
:5 Happy are the people whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
:6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of springwater; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.
:7 They go from strength to strength; each appears before God in Zion.
We pulled into town with our truck full of belongings, stored everything for a few weeks till our house was ready, and then finally moved in to what would be our residence for a while. We learned where all the important and essential stores were located (like Home Depot, Guitar Center, and Starbucks). The people were wonderful and we spent the next few years getting to know many of them quite well. Our employment was established and a house was acquired with big trees and yard. It would appear that this, indeed, was our home.
But this, like prior and present locations, never could truly be our real home. I still have this notion that, because I grew up in Colorado, my home is up there somewhere after you cross the Colorado line. This, though, is no different than any of my other landings, it’s just been the temporary residence of a pilgrim. It is so tempting to somehow get attached to a place to the point of making it part of your identity. While this will probably always be somewhat true as where we’ve been makes a contribution to our perceptions, there is but one place that will successfully define who we are and where we’re from. Once we’ve been made citizens of the eternal kingdom, it doesn’t matter where we lay our head or place our things, there is this undeniable feeling that everything is just temporary. We’ll just be here for a little while, even if it’s the rest of our life.
What I really like about the awareness of our pilgrimage, though, is that everything that might otherwise appear so significant and important is given true perspective. It’s just another of many passing elements as we continually make progress to our eternal home. As the seriousness of each circumstance is given its true perspective, every reason for sadness or discouragement is stripped of its significance and the power of our heritage replaces those emotions with happiness producing strength that cannot be taken by anyone or anything. Instead of having the conditions dictate our mood, we are instead empowered to bring spring water to our valley and cover wherever we land with blessings.
We are truly pilgrims, but the strength of this reality will only be found by those who truly set their hearts on this understanding, letting it be a source of ever progressing strength. We may have pulled into town for a little while, but while here there will be a provision through us and blessing to this place and its people. I don’t know about you, but it makes me a bit happy just thinking about it.
