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Going Places is the name of the official magazine of the American Automobile Association. In its pages are articles about various foreign and domestic travel destinations. The places one can go vary with each issue.
Some destinations focus on ways that families can enjoy themselves while visiting in the area. Others lend themselves to exploring historical landmarks. Still others offer thrills and excitement, while still others hold out the possibility of romance.
For me one of the best things about going someplace happens before the trip even begins. The anticipation of going to a new place, meeting new people, and experiencing a different culture is exciting in itself. Preparing for a trip can also mean learning something about the history of the people who live there. One thing I don’t like about pre-trip preparations is if shots are necessary. I don’t like to go places that require you to have shots.
The journey itself is always full of unplanned discoveries, and sometimes there are surprises. These can be negative, but sometimes they are delightful. Another wonderful aspect of the journey is one’s traveling companions. Traveling with someone adds to the fun because you get to share the fun with someone.
Arriving at the destination is obviously a high point of a trip. Here is the place you wanted to go. Here is the place you are going to do what you came to do, see what you came to see, and experience what you came to experience. When you decided to go someplace, this is the place you decided to go.
There are times when the places we decide to go turn out to be less than we had hoped for. There are other times when our destinations are more exciting or meaningful than we had imagined they would be. Either way, at the end of the journey it is good to be able to go home. There is little that compares to coming home after having been away. The satisfaction of being in the place where one belongs is rich in peace and contentment.
As followers of Christ, we spend our whole lives going places. Sometimes our journeys take us to faraway places and at other times they take us to places close at hand. Some of our journeys don’t require us to go anywhere because they are interior journeys that take place deep inside of ourselves. These journeys can be for healing, for discovery, for direction. All of these journeys lead us to a place where we have never been. Ironically, it is a place we sometimes refer to as home.
How can home be a place we have never been? Isn’t home the place where we are, or at least the place we came from? As followers of Christ we are not home until we are home with God. Then we will be at home like we never before have been, at rest like we have never before rested. We will be in the place where we belong.
Until we get home we are left here, going places, dreaming dreams and living lives. The joy of the journey is in small part due to the company in which we travel. I am glad that we are going places together.
Joy and Peace,
Ed
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