return

July 27, 2010 My breath prayer for the day is very appropriate for one who has just returned from 4 weeks of renewal leave, from Hosea 11:11b, "I will return them to their homes, says the LORD." We got in about 2 p.m. yesterday after spending nearly a month on the road visiting friends and news places in Australia and New Zealand. I cannot begin to put into words how grateful I am to God for this sabbath time. I am also very thankful to be home....in my own bed (not a new one every day or few days), with a closet full of clothes (not a suitcase), with a known walking path (not one that I have to follow by looking at a map). But I found a home wherever I went: with my wife in the renewing of our marriage, with friends like the Shanks' family in Brisbane, with the church as we worshiped at the Uniting Church of Australia, at St. Mary's Catholic in Sydney, at Christchurch Anglican for evensong in Christchurch, and at Pitt Street Methodist in Aukland. I pray that we know that we have a home to return to when we die. Today, I am at home in my church job, going to staff meeting, going through mail, and starting again.

Love,
Lynn