My heart is set on the pilgrimage
Today was a particularly crazy day at school for many reasons. It is a full moon. It is the day before Halloween. It is 2 days before a field trip. It is 3 days before our fall break. We have not had a break in 2 months. Everyone is at their wits end it seems.
I found myself becoming easily angered today. During my planning period I read Psalm 84 and it truly echoed what I was feeling in my soul. The Psalmist describes longing to be with God and continually trusting in Him. The verse that really stuck out to me was 5-6:
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose heart is set on the pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs."
The idea of setting my heart on the pilgrimage just clung to me and got me through the day. I praise God for taking away my horrible headache in the middle of the day. I got home and I stood outside in the cold and the whipping wind watching the dogs play in the yard. I started praying outside and just telling God about my frustration and sadness. I was looking around our yard thinking how bleak it looked with winter coming soon. The wind these past two days has stripped more than half the brilliant colored leaves off every tree. The leaves were covering a particular area of our yard in which there used to be these huge ugly bushes that hide our house from the street. We cut them down several months ago and have been planting bulbs and letting grass grow in. I smiled because I realized that some grass was growing over a part of it finally.
And as realized that my classroom, like so many things in my life, was like our house. A work in progress. We are undoing things from the previous owners and fixing areas where they were careless or did things that were ugly. I thought over things in my classroom and thought, "I still can't change all these things by myself." Then I realized I am not changing them by myself. The Lord is with me there everyday. He's given me 4 wonderful assistants as well. I am not on my own. But it still will be a long journey- one that will pass my time with them as a teacher.
Pilgrimage. It's a word that means alot in many other religions. The pilgrimage to meca or the pilgrimage to jerusalem. We don't ever talk about it in Christianity. In fact when I googled it and read the definition on Wikipedia, it described a piligrimage in all major religions, but gave the smallest description of it in "Christianity." That made me smile because our pilgrimage is not merely physical. Sure, we could visit places significant to Christ, but that is not what being a Christian is about and is certainly not commanded anywhere in the Bible.
It is a pilgrimage to heaven- to be with our Father, our King, our Savior. We are pilgrims in this world, travelers. That is why we struggle to find rest and to fully settle here. We are not meant to settle here. Our hearts yearn and cry out to be with Jesus and to see Him face to face, to forget the trouble of this world and to sing his praises all day long. I may not realize that is my hearts' cry everyday, but when I cry out for more in this world- for peace, for joy, for complete satisfaction- I am longing for heaven.
Psalm 84 says that as "they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source or springwater." Baca means "tears." As we pass through the "Valley of tears," and we set our hope on Jesus and seeing his face in heaven, our tears become tears of joy, our mourning turns to singing.
A beautiful song about our pilgrimage that was stuck in my head today because of a line at the end-, "My heart is set on the pilgrimage."
Listen to the song here: On the road to beautiful
I crumble at Your kiss and grace
I'm a weakling in the dust
Teach me how to cling to You
With all my life and all my love
Father come to me, hold me up 'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short, I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
And on the road to beautiful
My seasons always change
But my life is spent on loving You
To know You in Your power and pain
Father come to me, hold me up 'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short, I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
You're my portion in this life
You're my strength now in my fight
And to You I pledge my heart
In the pain and in the dark I'll love You
I'll love You, I'll love You
I'll love You...
Father come to me, hold me up 'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short, I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
And my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
I love You
I love You
I love You
I found myself becoming easily angered today. During my planning period I read Psalm 84 and it truly echoed what I was feeling in my soul. The Psalmist describes longing to be with God and continually trusting in Him. The verse that really stuck out to me was 5-6:
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose heart is set on the pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs."
The idea of setting my heart on the pilgrimage just clung to me and got me through the day. I praise God for taking away my horrible headache in the middle of the day. I got home and I stood outside in the cold and the whipping wind watching the dogs play in the yard. I started praying outside and just telling God about my frustration and sadness. I was looking around our yard thinking how bleak it looked with winter coming soon. The wind these past two days has stripped more than half the brilliant colored leaves off every tree. The leaves were covering a particular area of our yard in which there used to be these huge ugly bushes that hide our house from the street. We cut them down several months ago and have been planting bulbs and letting grass grow in. I smiled because I realized that some grass was growing over a part of it finally.
And as realized that my classroom, like so many things in my life, was like our house. A work in progress. We are undoing things from the previous owners and fixing areas where they were careless or did things that were ugly. I thought over things in my classroom and thought, "I still can't change all these things by myself." Then I realized I am not changing them by myself. The Lord is with me there everyday. He's given me 4 wonderful assistants as well. I am not on my own. But it still will be a long journey- one that will pass my time with them as a teacher.
Pilgrimage. It's a word that means alot in many other religions. The pilgrimage to meca or the pilgrimage to jerusalem. We don't ever talk about it in Christianity. In fact when I googled it and read the definition on Wikipedia, it described a piligrimage in all major religions, but gave the smallest description of it in "Christianity." That made me smile because our pilgrimage is not merely physical. Sure, we could visit places significant to Christ, but that is not what being a Christian is about and is certainly not commanded anywhere in the Bible.
It is a pilgrimage to heaven- to be with our Father, our King, our Savior. We are pilgrims in this world, travelers. That is why we struggle to find rest and to fully settle here. We are not meant to settle here. Our hearts yearn and cry out to be with Jesus and to see Him face to face, to forget the trouble of this world and to sing his praises all day long. I may not realize that is my hearts' cry everyday, but when I cry out for more in this world- for peace, for joy, for complete satisfaction- I am longing for heaven.
Psalm 84 says that as "they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source or springwater." Baca means "tears." As we pass through the "Valley of tears," and we set our hope on Jesus and seeing his face in heaven, our tears become tears of joy, our mourning turns to singing.
A beautiful song about our pilgrimage that was stuck in my head today because of a line at the end-, "My heart is set on the pilgrimage."
Listen to the song here: On the road to beautiful
I crumble at Your kiss and grace
I'm a weakling in the dust
Teach me how to cling to You
With all my life and all my love
Father come to me, hold me up 'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short, I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
And on the road to beautiful
My seasons always change
But my life is spent on loving You
To know You in Your power and pain
Father come to me, hold me up 'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short, I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
You're my portion in this life
You're my strength now in my fight
And to You I pledge my heart
In the pain and in the dark I'll love You
I'll love You, I'll love You
I'll love You...
Father come to me, hold me up 'cause I can barely stand
My strength is gone and my breath is short, I can't reach out my hands
But my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
And my heart is set on a pilgrimage to heaven's own bright King
So in faltering or victory I will always sing
I love You
I love You
I love You
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