Thank you for returning faithfully each day to join me here for this “Advent Adventure.”
Not all the lessons God taught me at the jungle training camp were painful memories. After returning from that 50-mile hike, staff who had remained behind in camp met us as we trudged in at the gate. They handed us mugs of hot tea. When we stepped into our rooms, we found pails of warm water waiting for our bath. They had located enough dry bedding to replace our soggy sleeping bags. We had eaten one-course meals out of a 5-gallon can for four days, but the spread the staff set before us at supper that night was a feast! It included fresh roast beef, hot yeast rolls, and chocolate cream pie! And the staff wouldn’t even let us help clear the tables!
We campers knew that once we finished our training and moved on to our permanent assignments, we wouldn’t always have a friendly staff waiting to receive us and welcome us home, but that night, those who had hiked all day went to bed with full tummies and rested under warm dry blankets. We were thankful.
When Jesus came to earth, he had to learn to walk. When he was 12, he and his parents walked on foot over 70 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem. He hiked with his disciples everywhere. They were not always welcomed at the end of the day when they were hungry, tired and footsore. Yet, after Jesus died and ascended to the Father, just imagine the banquet the Father served His Son the day he finally returned to heaven!
Do you have a friend who is exhausted, stressed, or ready to give up? How can you encourage someone today? How can you make them feel welcomed?
