by Tom Wacaster
This past October 16th
my wife and I celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary.
In those four plus decades we have moved a total of 26 times. We are
presently engaged in yet another move, this time to the Forth Worth, Texas area.
This move will make number 27 (if we have counted correctly). Some of
those moves have been just “around the corner,” some across town, some out of
state, and at least two times from one country to another. None of
those moves has been “easy,” and some of them have been what Peter might
classify as a “fiery trial.” In each of those moves we have had to take
care of those pesky “new numbers” that come into our lives: address, zip
codes, area codes, phone numbers, bank account numbers; the list seems almost
endless. It is amazing how many numbers we still remember – burned into
our memory as with a “hot iron”: 1312 South Cherry, 722 West 22nd,
501 Southgate, to name but a few. Each location has provided us
with memories to last a life time. It makes no difference whether we lived
there for a few months, or for a few years; we can still remember those
experiences that come with raising a family, or working with God’s family in
the congregation with which I was associated at the time. Oh, the
memories!
Once again our numbers
are changing. We are acquiring a new address, new phone numbers (house,
office and cell), and a new zip code that goes with the P.O. Box as well as the
street address. The change in numbers symbolizes a change in the
road we travel through life’s sojourn toward that heavenly home.
Each of those new numbers reminds us of the uncertainly of life and the ever
changing circumstances we experience over the years. No doubt these new
numbers will only be temporary and it will not be long ere we once gain find
ourselves acquiring yet more numbers to take up space in our mind and provide
our friends with information of our whereabouts.
The uncertainty of
life reflected in those changing numbers stands in stark contrast to the
permanence of our God. He is “the same yesterday and today, yea and
forever” (Heb. 13:8). The Proverb writer noted, “There are many devices
in a man's heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand” (Pro. 19:21).
It is this realization of the sovereignty of our God that gives us hope in
times of despair, patience in the face of adversity, and a firm foundation when
everything around us seems to be crumbling at our feet. No doubt W.
Williams had this very thought in mind when he wrote the words to that well
known hymn:
Guide me, O Thou great
Jehovah
Pilgrim through this
barren land;
I a weak but Thou art
mighty,
Hold me with Thy
powerful hand.
When I tread the verge
of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears
subside;
Bear me through the
swelling current,
Land me safe on Canaan’s
side.
Let life’s fleeting
changes come and go; the saint will hold fast to the hand of his God, never
losing sight of that heavenly mansion that has been prepared for the faithful.
The time will come when we lay aside this “tabernacle” for a “house not made
with hands, eternal, in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1). It may be my lot
to move another dozen times before my Lord calls me to that heavenly home. But
when it comes my time to depart the walks of life I will rejoice knowing that
my heavenly home will be a place where there will be no “new numbers” to
memorize or mail to my loved ones.