The plane tickets are purchased and in July 2023, I will fly to Seattle to partake in the Major League Baseball All-Star weekend festivities.
I had the opportunity to attend this event much closer to my home in 2021 by myself but I chose not to. Why then would I fly to Seattle to attend the same event? Won’t the experience be the same? Perhaps it is my nostalgia remembering baseball games in Seattle as a kid. But actually, I neglected to tell you something about my trip to Seattle in 2023.
I didn’t mention that I will be attending this event with my twin brother and my dad. As I think about my hopes and expectations around this event, are they not transformed by whom I will attend with? I did not attend in 2021 because I would have been by myself. And I certainly would not fly to Seattle to attend with a simple acquaintance. Though I’m excited for the event itself, it pales in comparison to the expected familiarity of intimacy in a relationship of deep love and delight.
As I think about life, I sometimes wonder, “what is this all for?” If it is just for the events and experiences, then emptiness abounds. But, if we assume the posture of those huddled around the manger in expectation of the deep love of God to appear in our midst, we then find that our every moment is filled not with the hope of experience alone, but with the abiding joy of experiencing life with him who loves us most.
Heavenly Father, I am thankful for this life and the hopes and joys that we get to experience. But I want to stop and thank you that you are the source of hope because you are our hope.
Check out this series: Treasure