It was a morning off work and there were a number of things I would have liked to do but an unexpected turn of events curtailed my plans .... in a very nice way.

I had to break away from what I was doing for a while to take my car to the garage to collect a new key and get it coded. For some silly reason I had a mental block and headed off in the wrong direction to where I needed to go and had to re-route my journey, which took me on a small detour and over a hill which overlooked one of our beautiful bays.  There is was in all its glory, bathed in beautiful sunshine, and it looked so very appealing.

I thought for a moment of time how much I would love to be there ...
'right now!'

I couldn't stop or slow down to enjoy the view because there were cars behind me, so I just caught a glimpse of it on the bend as I descended the hill down to the road where the garage was situated.

I thought the process of coding my key would take about twenty minutes or so, but I was wrong.  It was possibly going to take up to an hour!  So, I was invited to wait in the car showroom on a comfy seat in a cosy corner.  While sitting there and sipping on a small glass of water someone had kindly provided, I was wondering what I would do with all this waiting time.  I looked out of the window into the sunny street and thought: "The bay is just a few minutes' walk away from here! .... I know what I want to do while I'm waiting."

I quickly drank up my water and went to the reception and suggested that I would go for a walk and be back within the hour instead of waiting inside.  I left my mobile number just in case they were finished before my return and off I went.

In only a few minutes I was 'there'!  The very place where I had that momentary longing for, no longer than twenty minutes prior to actually being there in that beautiful bay for a stroll on the beach.  Oh, it was wonderful indeed!  The sky was blue, the sea was pleasant, the waves curling in and breaking softly on the pebbles that had earlier been washed up by stormy weather.  The smells and the sounds excited my senses.  And even better still was the fact that this most pleasant outing was an unexpected surprise!

Any other February morning would have been cold and extremely unpleasant but we have been enjoying unusually warm weather for the time of the year and there was nothing more than a slightly cool breeze to remind us that this IS actually February and not April or May!

I walked and walked, breathing in the beautiful fresh air and enjoying the sound of the waves and gulls calling to each other.  The only other people I saw down there was the occasional  person walking their dog.  It was absolutely wonderful!

When I finally turned around and walk back I stopped for a few moments to do a reality check.  Was I really here or was I imagining all of this? And then something rather wonderful occupied my thoughts.

I saw this place afar off, I longed to be there - 'right now',
and suddenly I WAS there all within a very short space of time.

How many times have we longed to be at home in heaven with the Lord Jesus and with those who we know have arrived there before us?  Occasionally we've had a glimpse of our eternal home afar off during our alone time with the Lord, or while enjoying the lyrics of a lovely hymn.  Sometimes we might be listening to some stirring music and our soul has been carried away with thoughts and imaginations of this beautiful place. Or we might have been listening to a gifted preacher expounding to us the Scriptures which gendered our longing to be there.

I have great joy in telling you that one soon day, quite unexpected maybe, those of us who are God's people  WILL be there, perhaps sooner than we thought.  The Lord Jesus promised that He is going to come again one soon day and call all of His people out of this sad old world up and away to join Him in His.

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In 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.
And 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

And if it took God six days to create the earth upon which we live in all its beauty, how much more wonderful is the place He has spent over two thousand years preparing?  For me, my unexpected stroll on the beach in the sunshine was wonderful enough,  but how much more so will it be to be taken by surprise and find ourselves in His fair land and in His presence?

I don't know about you but I can't wait to get there!

But there is one more important thing.  Although I didn't know that I would be walking on the beach that day, I was prepared!  I was suitably dressed for the environment in which I unexpectedly found myself, which serves as a gentle warning to all who are reading this right now ... to be prepared!

If you are one of God's people you need to allow the possibility of the Lord's imminent return to fill and thrill your soul, because soon all the suffering and trials we know will be over.  His coming is something that ought to be paramount in our thinking, and that which we are talking among ourselves about because the Bible tells us to: "Comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4: 18.

But you may be reading this and you are not prepared for this event.  You need to know and understand that God will not allow anyone into His heaven unsuitably dressed!  You are loved more than words could ever fully tell by God Himself.  The Bible tells us this is the way He demonstrated His love: "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 1 Timothy 1: 15.

God has done everything it takes in order that you might have the assurance of a home in His heaven for you to look forward to.  It takes a humble heart willing to trust in Him fully and believe that when Jesus died on the cross, He died as your Substitute. Trusting in Him with all your heart will make room for God to change your destiny and your 'apparel'.  The Bible tells us that God clothes those who He has saved with "garments of salvation", and "a robe of righteousness." Isaiah 61: 10.

It won't be long to wait before God's people find themselves in that wonderful place called heaven.  We have seen it afar off, and we long to be there 'right now'!  And one soon day, may be sooner than we thought 'right now' will have come suddenly.

Be prepared dear ones, this wonderful event may be ....

~~~~~

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