🔴 Are you Ready for Home Coming!
A Devotional written by Diana L.W. Coleman for Our Given Purpose®
Bible Reading: John 14:1-14, Psalm 84:1-12, Psalm 18:1-50
Psalm 18:20 The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
🔴 Living in my grandparents’ home as a child, every third Sunday in August was significant to our Chestnut Grove community (located in previously named Agricola, Virginia). All the flower beds had to be carefully weeded, vegetable gardens, trees had to be whitewashed with lime solution, grass cut, and the road freshly graveled. Everywhere including the chicken coops, barns, smokehouse, and even the “outhouse” actually got store-bought toilet paper to put on top of the Sears catalog.
Inside the house: walls were dusted, washed, or freshly painted, from ceilings to baseboards. The floors being waxed and shined was the favorite chore because we as children made a game of pulling each other on old woolen sweaters and scarves across the floor until the floors looked like glass. Once done, we would wait to see which relative from out of state would arrive first.
Beginning on Friday to be in place for Saturday activities: the barbecue (with Uncle John on the grill and the scent of his cherry tobacco filled pipe mixing with the aroma of the meats), baseball, “Jack Rocks,” Hide and Seek, “Mama May I,” card games, marbles, “Simon Says” and more.
The culminating daylong event was spending Sunday at Church. After the morning service was “dinner on the grounds” when we would go from one beautiful linen-covered tables with baskets and dishes of mac and cheese, yams, fresh greens, fried chicken, country ham, roast beef, homemade yeast rolls, cake, pie, choosing our favorites from who we thought had the best.
As an adult, having fond memories of this time in my life, I am reminded of an even better homecoming. I must prepare with the same enthusiasm and anticipation.
Jesus promised us in John 14, “…I go to prepare a place for you. [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. “
How are you preparing for His Homecoming?
Are you cleaning out the sin of unforgiveness, unrighteousness, and injustice? Are you kindhearted and trustworthy?
As we would sing back in the day, “Yield Not to Temptation” – will you pray and just ask the Savior to help you?
~A Devotional by Diana L.W.Coleman
This devotional was written by Diana L.W. Coleman a loving contributor to Our Given Purpose® Edited by Torrie Slaughter in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
© Torrie Slaughter, LLC, Torrie Slaughter Photography, and Our Given Purpose ®, 2020.
