Preparing a Place

Watching, waiting and anticipating....

When I am expecting company, I 'wear out the carpet'! Checking the driveway again and again. What time did they say they would arrive? Wonder if they are close? Will they get here soon? Is all ready for their arrival?

I think of the passage of scripture that Jesus gives us, telling us of his "preparation for our coming" to his house.... our home in Heaven...

¹Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. ²In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:1-3, King James Version)

As God is preparing a place for us, shouldn't we be preparing a place for him? A place in our heart, our lives, our jobs, our hopes, our dreams? Is he a part of everything?

Every time I start to "prepare the house for company" I get into my "hospitality" drill. What do they like to eat? Are they allergic to anything? Are they diabetic (since we have so many in our friends and family circle!)? What are their favorite hobbies and interests? Are they like to drink coffee, tea or cappuccino?

As I was getting my guest bedroom ready for some company that we are expecting this weekend (Yeah L&G!), I was in the "wash the sheets" mode. You know the drill. Making sure no "dust bunnies" were in the corners, dusting, taking out extra "items" that get stored in that room (how DARE I call any of these articles JUNK!).

The bed is old (Yes, Suz, that is the set Mom bought off of you and Jr after the fire!), the walls are green (excuse me, they are BRIGHT LIME GREEN... the last color we painted them before Shelly left for college!) and the carpet is WAY beyond time for replacement... but it is part of our home. Our place of refuge and rest.



While I was "preparing" the room, I thought of another lady in the Bible who prepared a place for a prophet to stay....

⁹And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. ¹⁰Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. ¹¹And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned
into the chamber, and lay there. (2 Kings 4:9-11, King James Version)



How fun it is to know that you are "giving your best" to allow someone else to be comfortable. I'm sure the little lady shared that sentiment. A bed, table, stool and candlestick. Just because she may not have had "new items" did not keep her from providing them.

In my house there is old, new, borrowed (and blue! No, this is not a wedding, I just love that saying!).... I have very ECLECTIC tastes! I LOVE antiques. I have the wonderful old items from my family (the hand-me-downs), newer collections, comfortable pieces and 'deer-heads hung on the wall' in homage to my dear Hunter Husband! But you know what? Aren't we all that way? Many parts of our life are there for sentimental and emotional values instead of prideful ones.

So, with my new pillows and worn out carpet, would I be like the lady in the Bible to share what I have? Or would I say, 'mine is not good enough'....

Our lives should be given wholly to God ... open to share. Not be ridden with hidden parts for shame or embarrassment. I'm sure the prophet was so thankful for the space provided. So thankful for the open heart that provided this 'resting place' for him.

I think of Heaven. I think of the 'resting place' that God is preparing for us. I would follow him there even if there were no streets of gold or walls of jasper... no mansions, no gates of pearl. That he wants to give me all this, it just fine.... but I just want to see him. Gaze into his wonderful glory and thank him with every breath. What a wonder!

May I give him what I have and not worry about what I do not!

I want to give you a place Lord
in my heart and in my life
A place where you can feel welcome
loved and adored
Even though I know I cannot give you
a small part of what you deserve
You give me nothing but approval
and love me even more

Give all... receive more than you could ever imagine.

Heaven will be such a place... a 'prepared' place. Just for me... and you...