Are We There Yet?

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:4-6

When I was growing up, our family took a lot of car trips.  We drove all over the state of Wyoming for camping trips, to visit family, and to attend swim meets.  Back then seat belts weren't really a big deal, so my sister and I just rolled around the back of my parents' van like badly behaved puppies.

On one memorable trip to Disney Land, my mother bought a foam bat.  Whenever my sister and I got out of hand she'd just reach back and smack us with the bat.  It didn't hurt, but it got our attention!

Of course, the most common question of nearly every trip was, "Are we there yet?" 

In a desperate attempt to keep us from asking that question over and over again, my mother made up games for us to play.  Back then, playing the license plate game or the alphabet game didn't work very well - Wyoming and the surrounding states weren't very well populated so there weren't a lot of cars and you could drive most of the day without ever seeing a billboard.  One "game" she came up with was counting the posts on the side of the road.  She told us there were a certain number of posts per mile, and that if we counted the posts we could tell how far we'd gone and then we'd know how close we were to "being there."

With our recruit at boot camp, I find I'm back to asking that question, "Are we there yet?"

We expected gaps in communication - and we have not been disappointed!  After the initial, 30 second phone call to assure us he had arrived safely, and that first letter, we have heard...nothing.  We keep reminding ourselves that no news is good news, but it makes the waiting harder.

In a little more than four weeks, we will getting in the car to make the long trip up to Great Lakes for Pass In Review, and all I can think of is, "Are we there yet?"

I want to see the great work that has been completed in my recruit!  I want to catalog the changes and rejoice over how he has grown.  I can only imagine how I'll be once our car is on the road and pointed north!

My scripture for today is Philippians 1:4-6 - because I KNOW that God has begun a good work in my recruit at boot camp, and He will be faithful to complete it!

With that in mind, this is my prayer today:

Loving Father, I know you understand my heart right now.  You have experienced separation from your Son, and eagerly anticipated his return to you.  When I am driven to ask, "Are we there yet?" and worry for my recruit threatens to overwhelm me, help me remember your promise to complete the work you have started, and your peace will help me carry on.  Amen.