The Road Home

As you can see, I have not blogged lately. My family and I just returned from a trip to Michigan to visit our families. I was able to get a little writing done and some rest and recreation (this always includes golf). I never look forward to driving to Michigan. If you have ever driven across country, you know it can be a tiring and trying it can be. The kids were good. Of course they had their moments, but for the most part, they were good traveling companions. But now the trip is over, and it is good to be back at home. However, whenever I am in Michigan I always feel I am home. No matter where I have lived, my mother's home has always seemed to be home to me. She still lives in the house I was born and raised in. It still stands on that old dirt road. The neighbors have changed and the faces in the community are no longer recognizable to me, but my mother is still standing as one of the matriarchs of this small wooded-community on Woodland Lake in Woodland Park, MI. As I walked around the neighborhood, I was reminded of all the old trails and paths we would take as children. Many of those old paths are still remaining. This reminded me, that the old paths are often best because they have been tried and found to be true and safe. Perhaps this is what God had in mind when he said, "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls." (Jer. 6:16) The old paths remind us that there have been those who have faithfully gone before us. We are not the first to walk this path and thus can rely upon their testimonies even as we are establishing our own. Inevitably there is a rest and assurance in knowing that God had lead others down the same road and brought them home. It gives us the confidence that He is the same faithful God today. Ultimately, it is just good to know that the road home is not only a welcomed road, but it is well traveled one.