“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There is something about the Holy Land. It is precious and special to me. It is a place I hope to continue to  visit throughout my life. 

So coming to the end of our tour is a sad thing. Because I love it here. And the time we’ve spent here has been beautiful. 

At the same time, today I have felt a tugging in my heart – a longing for my own bed, my own house, the sweet doggy who lives with me there. I am ready to return to my country, Canada. 

It turns out that I love to travel. (This has come as a surprise to me over the past few years. Travel usually involves flying and I hate flying, so I thought I hated travel. It turns out that I love travel enough to tolerate the flight!)

 I love to go new places and have new experiences. I love to go away. I love to explore. But part of what I love about all of that, is coming back home again. Knowing that though I may wander, there is a place that is my own, to which I will return when the wandering has come to a close. 

Jesus promised his disciples that tough they would be parted, he was going to prepare a place for them. He promised them that he was making a home in his Father’s house, a place where they would all be together again.  

This Lent, may you know that the sense of home you have on Earth doesn’t compare with the sense of home you will have in Heaven. May you know that Jesus goes to prepare a place for you, and he will come again to bring you to where he is. 
Above: The sun over Jerusalem. View from my room in the Dan Boutique. 

Above: Mom, Dad, Andrew and Sarah enjoying shopping in the Old City. 
Above: I didn’t know we had a park here! 
 

Above: Ridiculously good gnocchi at the Train Station near our hotel.