Tears On a Trailways Bus

“This world of woe is but the stepping-stone to a world of bliss.” – C.H. Spurgeon

My first two years of college were spent at St. John’s University in Queens, NY. Actually, I kind of felt that I didn’t have much of a choice because I wanted to major in Sports Administration and St. John’s offered the only undergrad program in the country at that time. And so, off I went, chasing my dream of working in the front office of Major League Baseball.

The only problem with St. John’s was that it was a commuting college and there were no dorms. That meant that I had to find an apartment somewhere in Jamaica Estates, the blue collar neighborhood where the college was located. As a freshman, I lived in the basement of an elderly couple’s house, but I was able to secure an actual bedroom my sophomore year (although my landlady wasn’t very nice).

And I was miserable…

I liked my classes but, having grown up in a small town of 4,000 people, New York City was overwhelming to me. In fact, I was so homesick that, as I boarded the Trailways bus on Sunday evenings to return to St. John’s, I would take my seat, turn my face toward the window, and fight back tears for the next 90 minutes.

After two years, I had had enough of the Big Apple and so, I transferred to Temple University in Philadelphia. It was also a commuter school, but this time I was just a short subway ride from home.

Someday in the not-too-distant future, you and I will say our earthly goodbyes to our loved ones and everything that is familiar to us… and head off into eternity. But for those of us who know Jesus as our Savior, we know exactly what – and more importantly, Who – awaits us on the other side.

Here is how Charles Spurgeon described that final journey…

“The journey of death may be dark, but we may face it fearlessly, knowing that God is with us as we walk through the gloomy valley, and therefore we need fear no evil. We shall be departing from all we have known and loved here, but we shall be going to our Father's house—to our Father's home, where Jesus is—to that royal “city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” This will be our last relocation, to live forever with Him we love, in the midst of His people, in the presence of God.”

“We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8 (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President