Standing in Two Places at Once
By Elaine Cook Carr
TODAY’S TREASURE
"For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens…For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." - 1 Corinthians 5:1,4
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." - Revelation 21:4
This past week I was surfing through old pictures looking for a specific photograph I needed. I don't know about you but the search for pictures often sends me on a walk down memory lane that always distracts me. As is typical, a particular photograph caught my eye and reminded me of a special trip and unique experience.
Our daughter was a travel nurse for several years and during that time she was assigned to Vermont for a few months. We had never been to that part of our lovely country and so we decided we would go to visit her from our home in the Deep South. My husband is not fond of flying and basically refuses to do so but he also really dislikes driving in heavy traffic so he did not want to tackle both Atlanta and New York City. So, we decided to take the train as far north as it would take us which was only as far St. Albans, VT. Our daughter was living and working in a small town near the Canadian border and still had to travel an hour south to pick us up at the train station (which was really just a platform).
To say that we were wide-eyed tourists in lovely Vermont is probably an understatement. It was an incredibly beautiful state and I was surprised to see how rural it is there. At a visitor's center, we picked up a brochure about a place called The Haskell Library and read the following: "The Haskell is a library like no other. It straddles two nations, the US and Canada. There is a black line, a strip of tape that runs along the library floor that marks the international border separating the towns of Derby Line, Vermont from Stanstead Quebec." In that library, a person can stand with one foot in each country at the same time. After reading this we had to go see this lovely, historic, unique library. And that photograph I mentioned earlier? It's a picture of my husband's feet –one on either side of the taped line –one planted in the USA and the other in Canada. This photograph not only reminded me of a great trip and fun times with my family, but it also got me to thinking about the Christian life and how we tend to live with one foot in the here and now (this life) and the other in the not yet (heaven).
This life is filled with brokenness, suffering, and struggle. None of us are immune and we both witness and experience it. In fact, the Apostle Paul says, "For while we are still in this tent we groan, being burdened…" (2 Cor. 5:4). But we take heart, keeping in mind that we are not alone, that Jesus promises to walk with us, whatever our difficulties may be, while trusting that our hope is in the "not yet." Not only does He walk with us, but His death and resurrection have secured our eternity and He has won the victory over all earth's travails, sickness, sorrow, suffering, and death.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
One day, both of our feet will be firmly planted in our eternal home – heaven. Revelation 21:4 promises us "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." I don't know about you but with each passing day, I look more and more forward to that day when both my feet are in one place and I bow before the face of Jesus. It is this hope that allows us to live both in the now and the not yet, but only temporarily:
"For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." - 2 Corinthians 5:1.
And that, my friends, is a wonderful promise!
PRAYER
When life becomes hard and we have our feet in two places, please remind us Lord that our home is with You. It is permanent and free of all earthly travails. We thank You for Your mercy and grace and look forward to that day when we can leave the now behind and live forever in the not-yet.
More free resources for help hope & healing:
Help & Hope podcast is a friend stepping into the private pain of listeners, acting as a tourniquet to help stop the bleeding of a hemorrhaging heart. There are over 160 podcasts that cover a variety of topics. This week’s featured story is: The Thorn of Autism with Lori Sealy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elaine Cook Carr is a 38-year veteran educator, now retired, and has been married to a wonderful man for almost 48 years. He is also now retired from nearly 40 years of full-time pastoral ministry. In addition to teaching children with special needs, I have, over the years, been deeply involved in both women's and children's ministries in multiple capacities. We are parents to two adult children (a pastor and an RN) and have four precious grandchildren ranging in age from 15 to 5.
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Originally published Wednesday, 16 August 2023.
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