"Are we there yet??"

They confessed they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear they are seeking a homeland...Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God;' indeed he has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:13,14,16

"Are we there yet??"
By Rev. William Dohle

This summer my family took an epic vacation!

From July 17th through August 3rd, we traveled a total of 4000 miles! From Peoria to Amarillo for our first stop. From Amarillo to Phoenix where we spent five days baking in the Arizona sun. From Phoenix we traveled to Los Angeles, to the beaches there to meet friends and eventually my family with whom we went to Disneyland and Universal Studios. Then from there we traveled to Utah where we stayed in my parents trailer for three days. Then we traveled back home, stopping in Lincoln, Nebraska one night on the way back.

It was quite a trip.

I began thinking of ourselves as migrants. Travelers whose possessions fit in our van. People who lived out of their suitcases.

It was a wanderers life, to be sure!

Much like the ancient Israelites were.

The ancient Israelites in the book of Numbers were on a continual wandering adventure. Having left Egypt almost a generation ago, these people were still in the desert and still looking for their promised land. In the middle of the desert, they decide to do what bored people do. They decided to start counting themselves. How many were there? Who were the people who remained in the desert? The number in Numbers is staggering. (This is from Numbers 26).

22200 Simeonites.
40500 Gadites
76500 Judahites.
From the clans of Issachar... 64300
From the clans of the Zebulunites... 60500
From the clans of Joseph... 52700
From the Ephraimites... 32500
The Benjamites had 45600
The Shuhamites... 64400
The Asherites... 53400
The Naphtalites... 45400
Total number of Isarelites enrolled?? 601730!

And to think that all those Israelites are wandering in the desert, searching for a Promised Land! I have to say... that's a lot of wandering Israelites!!

And yet I wonder if we took count of the number of wandering souls we have around us if we wouldn't be surprised. People living around us who don't feel quite at home. Either in their own skins or in their homes or in their jobs or in the places they live. They are strangers in a strange land, still searching for home. They are modern Israelites, searching for a promised land.

I've felt like that before. Not quite at home where I am. Still searching for a Promised Land to call home. Here but not here. A resident alien in a a foreign land. I know what its like to live out of your suitcase.

The assurance I've received from reading the story of God's wanderers is this: Despite our wandering, God stays with us. Despite us moving all over the place, God knows our address. God is still there. In fact, I might argue, God enjoys the wandering lifestyle. God spent much of God's time in a tabernacle, a tent, that was easily set up and torn down. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we know how much our body can move around. God calls us to a promised land, for sure, but God spends time with us in the wildernesses of our lives as well.

In the wilderness, as we wander, the promise of home remains. The promise of grace is still with them even in the middle of the desert. Those who wander are not lost. Not to God.

So take heart. Rejoice. Count the number of people crowded around you. Count even the clouds overhead. Enjoy your time of wandering. For time spent wandering makes our homecoming all the sweeter.

Watch over, God, those who wander in body, mind, or spirit. Keep us grounded in you that, by your grace, we may find ourselves in the Promised Land, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.