In response to the question, 'How are you?', many give the 'Getting there!' update. This comment has the benefits of being brief and hopeful, and of deflecting other more intrusive questions. Perhaps that is why we so often use the expression.
So if you are wondering how Betty & I are doing in Banbury, in our new home, I can say 'Getting there!'.
Many things are different - the rooms are smaller, there are hardly any trees to drop their leaves, and we can see lots of sky from our bedroom window.
We have made much progress on unpacking our stuff, and repainting some rooms, and this week or next, I may get round to unpacking the contents of the study!
But behind the response 'Getting there!' lies a deeper question about the intended destination.
Where exactly is the end of the journey for which 'Getting there!' is a progress report?
Many parents may recall the question from the children in the back of the car, when on a long journey on holiday, 'Are we nearly there?'
Betty & I are very aware that we are on a journey, as we settle into Banbury, and we look the the Lord to lead us towards his intended direction and destination.
Again, I come back to the mature wisdom of the imprisoned Apostle, St. Paul.
'I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.' (Philippians 3.12-14)
The Apostle was clear that it was Jesus who has set both the direction and destination for his journey of life. Know that, and living in the light of it, makes all the difference for us, whatever is happening in our lives.
Our prayer at this interesting new stage in our lives is that we will press on pressing on with the call of Jesus every day.
Best wishes,
Richard
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