Sometime back, Our friend Nisha was going to her hometown, and her train was apparently passing through the city we were staying in. Since we hadn't met her for a while, we decided to meet up with her in the station. Indian Railways had allotted 5 minutes for us to spend with her. So, the plan to meet Nisha for 5 minutes, by travelling on our two-wheeler for 12kms at 5:45AM the next day morning was fixed.
The alarm faithfully rang and we faithfully slept through the alarm. But I jumped out of bed after half an hour and woke up Rachel. We got dressed up soon and was on the way to the station - since the live status showed the train running late and that meant we still had a chance of meeting her. Though I was planning to make up for waking up late by driving abnormally fast, in a few minutes I understood that I would have to slow down because of the chilling weather. We both were shivering terribly. Beginning of the journey, we were tempted to drop the plan because of the cold weather. But we kept going. Midway, I was tempted to stop for a hot sip of tea because every tea shop looked tempting. But, we kept going. A few kilometres away from the station, we were tempted to halt for a few minutes. But we kept going.
I was tempted to stop for a hot sip of tea because every tea shop looked tempting.
Finally, we managed to reach the station and made a dash for the platform. Nisha's train had already arrived. We had to cross an overbridge & run towards one end of the platform since her coach stopped there. Eventually after a lot of running, we met Nisha - with only a minute remaining for the train to start again. Rachel and Nisha hugged and spoke a "few words"(words are rarely few when 2 females meet!) before the train gave the signal for its departure. Nisha was soon back in the train. We waved goodbyes and started walking back.
We both were happy we met Nisha - though only for a minute. Meeting her, made our journey a success. We were happy we got up in the morning - though late. We were happy we didn't stop on the way for tea or decided to go back home. We were happy we went as fast as we could though the weather was cold outside. We thought the ride was worth it - because we met Nisha, "for a minute."
And yes, we had tea on our way back to celebrate.
Our journey continues...
All of us are journeying everyday - to heaven.
On some days, the weather is not so great. You feel like taking a U-turn. There are other days when the weather is great and you enjoy the ride. But no matter what the day or weather - we have one thing to do - keep moving to our destination.
There are other days temptations rage on us. Devil subtly says - "Stop, take a break. A hot sip of tea won't hurt. In fact, you'll enjoy it! Don't you love tea. How can you say no to it?" Be quick to take your sight and thoughts away from it - and plant it on the destination.
"Stop, take a break. A hot sip of tea won't hurt. In fact, you'll enjoy it! Don't you love tea. How can you say no to it?"
Plant it on the One who completed the journey before us - the Author and Finisher. He showed us how to keep moving forward - to complete the journey. You and I, can't afford to keep looking at tea nor people enjoying it. You don't have the time - and it'll cost you if you fall. After all, you don't want to miss meeting your Friend for a tea! Don't miss meeting Jesus and Heaven for sin and this world!
The joy of meeting Nisha for a minute made the journey worth it. We were no longer thinking about the tea we didn't have or the sleep we missed. Heaven is worth the journey we take here no matter how difficult it is or gets. In fact the Bible gives that promise - "...sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18, ESV)
If there is one thing to do - it is to keep moving.
If there is one thing to avoid - it is sin.
If there is one person to look to - it is Jesus.
Happy journey!
Read
Remember
We are on a journey to meet Someone important
We have limited time
Delays and distractions will cost us
The journey is worth it
Reflect
Are there delays in my journey or am I on time?
What are the distractions and temptations that's slowing me down?
How can I take time everyday to think about the Joy of meeting Jesus and focus on that?
Well articulated. God bless 😇
Thought provoking..