It’s been my first real trip alone since my husband went Home: No friends, co-workers, just me. As I sit here, at the San Diego airport, waiting for my flight home I have an opportunity to reflect and document my experience before the busyness of life sets back in. I also don’t want to ever forget the immense gratitude I feel at this instant.
I’ve seen beauty, I’ve met some interesting people, and I’ve frolicked in opulence. To say that I’m blessed feels like an understatement, but it’s the best way to express my experience. I’m blessed to be able to travel, to eat delicious food, to see beauty, and to speak to people from all over the country. I’m blessed to be able to sit here, safely in an airport, and write my thoughts without fear.
It’s strange to have so much time to myself, it seems foreign, but what a gift it was. I was able to contemplate a singular thought repeatedly: This is nothing in comparison to what’s to come.
See, the most beautiful beaches of the vast Pacific Ocean, with its white-capped waves crashing on the rocks of the historic Hotel Del Coronado, is nothing in comparison to the beauty and majesty that awaits us. The most delicious of foods, artfully constructed by a kitchen of masters, is but a McDonald’s cheeseburger in comparison to the delicacies awaiting at the Bridegroom’s table. The most comfortable of surroundings, meant to relax and comfort, are but the smallest shred and most miniscule examples of the peace and comfort awaiting us in the presence of our Savior.
What I’ve been thinking about, this entire time, in this, most-beautiful of cities, is, that even this… is nothing when we contemplate what’s to come. The best day here, on this sin-filled Earth, regardless of location is less than, Heaven.
Some moments of this blissful trip found me in broken submission to the God Creator who tells us, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” I’m so limited in my mental capacity to understand the beauty that awaits us, that it’s humbling to be around the beauty that we, the creation, have managed to put together.
I mean, think about it, we as human beings are so very limited in our abilities, materials, resources, etc. But we still manage to build luxurious places made to cater to our every whim and physical desires (yes, I’m talking about great food and spas.) And this… THIS… is but a grain of sand in a bucket in comparison to what the Creator of Heaven and Earth has prepared for those who love Him.
While spending time alone, my thoughts naturally went to the person I wish I could share this with. Every meal, every cocktail, every experience… reminded me of my beloved. BUT… BUT…
Understanding eternity and where he is, who he’s with… I somehow found myself smiling. Just thinking about where he is. Like, he must be thinking, “oh baby, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”
What am I most grateful for? That God has written eternity on my heart. That I know, that I know, that I know, that this is not all there is.
Thank you, Jesus.