Road Trip Reflections Part 3: Matthew 13:44: Heaven is a Great Treasure

We had a great furlough. Susan and Heather have been gone for about a month; Sarah-Grace and I flew out to meet them about 2 weeks ago in Winnipeg. We then all drove back across Western Canada. Today I am going to chat about a few lessons learned and/or things that were reinforced for me along the way.

Lesson 3: Matthew 13:44: Heaven is a Great Treasure

After Winnipeg we were able to go to Regina, Moose Jaw and Swift Current in Saskatchewan. This is also very much a part of our children’s heritage. Not only do they have three or four great grandparents from Saskatchewan but Heather was born there and Rebecca and Sarah-Grace really grew up there. We celebrated the Riders (even though they lost); we were able to see the tunnels of Moose Jaw (a great tourist stop) and got to see a lot of old friends. It was good.

Next we went to Alberta and stopped at the West Edmonton Mall. Heather really wanted to see the Mall. We went there on Susan’s Birthday. Susan and Sarah-Grace went shopping and spent a good day together while Heather and I spent the day in the waterpark inside the mall before we all met for a birthday dinner. There were a lot of great waterslides. We went on a few of them – not all of them by any means. We spent most of our time in the wave pool.

In the wave pool, everyone stands waiting for these giant waves to come crashing over you and then you try to either jump over them, into them, or just hold firm without being swept away. It was fun. One thing that struck me was the singularity of focus. You had fun but there was no doubt why everyone was in that pool. When the horn sounded and the waves rolled, we all responded. This reminded me of the Holy Spirt greeting the disciples in Acts 2 who were eagerly awaiting Him. It also reminded me of the pearl of great price and Matthew 13:44 where we are told that “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” This is how the Christian life is meant to work – as we focus on Christ, the results are worth more than anything else in the world.

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