Living In Tents

I have no Jewish ancestry. I've never been to a synagogue. I identify as a Christian. And this fall, I am very much looking forward to celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkoth. Thousands of years ago, the Israelites left Egypt and wandered in the Wilderness for 40 years, living in tents, picking up and moving every time the Spirit of God moved. I've long thought, "That was then! Such a life could never work nowadays!" Yet, over the past few years, as my family has committed to obedience, following God wherever He takes us, and giving up control, the Lord has taken us on a modern day journey.

To date, we are moderately homeless for the second time in three years. It's not as bad as it sounds. God always provides, though at first the concept seemed overwhelming and many tears were shed. Maybe because we've done this before, maybe because we see the light at the end of the tunnel, or maybe because we've learned something over the past couple years, this time it isn't so bad.

Last time, we had to leave our beautiful rental, and we had no place to go. Trusting that God would provide something, we relaxed while packing and got nervous only on moving day. God did provide, but not exactly as I'd have liked. We stayed with friends for a week, my father in law for a month, my sister in law for a month, and finally found a place to live just before school began that fall. That was our home for almost two years, when we had to move again. Only this time, we'd just begun building a house.

Fortunately, we had booked a campsite for the summer. So currently, as we are still working toward getting this house built, we are enjoying the summer at a wonderful family campground.

It really has been a journey - a beautiful and sometimes frustrating journey! And so, that brings me to our wandering. We are living in a camper, which is a step up from a tent. We must move campsites occasionally to accommodate weekenders who booked before us. And as fall approaches, we'll remain in the camper a little longer, celebrating the Jewish feast, Sukkoth. We'll be camping. We'll be still on the move, provided for all the way by our Lord, and the feast will mean so much to us as a family.

Our promised land is on the horizon. We can see it, but we haven't taken possession just yet. Keeping our eyes on Jesus, he leads us on.