Homeward Bound

It is our last night in Australia, and on this last day I have seen some beautiful views of the Australian Outback. No, I didn't actually go there, but I got a taste of the Australian heartland on the Aussie Reality Show, The Farmer Wants a Wife. Do I really need to explain? The scenery was beautiful, and if you are in to such reality shows, you may want to check it out online. I am continually surprised and amazed by this remote land that is teeming with life.

We are heading home in the morning. It will be a bittersweet goodbye. I have grown to love Joan Cotton (Alison's "mum") in these three short weeks. She was great on the phone and in letters, but she is better in person! I have been truly blessed with in-laws of all kinds in this life!

We will leave Sydney at 1:50 Thursday afternoon and arrive in Los Angeles at 10:17 Thursday morning - another marvel of air travel with significant distances that involves crossing the time line. You may recall when we began this trip that we chased the sun out of Los Angeles (departing an hour or so after sunset) on a Monday night and ended up just beating it into Sydney on Wednesday morning some 14 hours later. Tomorrow, we get our lost day back.

In addition to leaving family, we will also leave behind good friends. These dear ones in Australia have had significant spiritual input into Alison's life, and I am the beneficiary. Alison's mother told her tonight as she went to bed, "I am so happy for both of you - everyone is!"

As Alison and I have said many times, "Neither of us wanted to be where we are - but neither of us would want to be anywhere else." Indeed! Can I explain that? No way. Life can be extremely painful - and, there are no promises that life will get better. We are well intentioned when we say, "God will always make things better," but we are often wrong. God is good, but He is God and His ways don't always make sense. A father in North Korea, no doubt, was dragged away from his family on the way to prison and maybe execution in this last week because of his faith in Jesus. We can't make sense of this life that is so often painful, but we can know that God is sovereign and that God is good. Our hope is not in this world - it is in eternal life with Jesus.

But, sometimes - many times, in fact - God brings beauty out of the ashes. It is just a taste of what life will be with Jesus in heaven, and it can be a treat to the senses and the imagination as we wait for the day when our Father calls us to be with Him. Do you know Jesus? As much as I have enjoyed meeting so many new friends in Australia, and as much as I love my friends back home, I SO want to be with you in heaven! Call out to Jesus, would you? He died to take the judgment of God that was directed toward you and me - until He stepped in the middle as a sacrifice that would satisfy God's righteous wrath against sin and against sinners. Repent of your sin (acknowledge it before the Lord) and call out to Jesus, believing that He died for you. He has promised to save you if you will!

It has been quite a trip, and an extremely full one. I will be back in the States soon, so if you see someone driving on the left side of the road . . .