This world is not my home

At a mundane level, the journey of life is a metaphor for the lifecycle: conception, birth, childhood, coming-of-age, young adulthood (marriage, children), middle-age, old age, and death. From a Christian perspective, the journey of life is a metaphor for our pilgrimage through this world into the next world. That includes the lifecycle, but takes a long-range view which extends far beyond death into eternity. A classic illustration is Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. My mother used to sing "This World is Not My Home" (by Albert Brumley). 

The journey of life as spiritual pilgrimage is a standard Christian metaphor. But it can be abstract. Something we initially believe because we're supposed to believe it, but not because we experience it. However, as we ourselves pass through the stages of life, and watch those ahead of us complete the journey, the metaphor takes on increasing emotional resonance.

Sometimes we experience something that yanks us back into the past. It may be a fragrance that reminds us of something from childhood. It may be a hymn or song we haven't hear for years, that reminds us of a particular incident or time of life in our past.

Recently I put on an old shirt I haven't worn for years. Turns out I hadn't worn it for 8 years! I felt something in the pocket. Turned out to be a card the size of a business card. An appointment card with the date for a medical appointment for a relative. I drove her to the appointment. 

That brought back a flood of memories. The route to and from the clinic. The fact that she is now deceased. And other poignant associations. 

It's a dramatic reminder of time's passage. Of what has happened in the intervening years. Eight years is not a long time, but things can happen in that time that makes it more significant that the raw interval. 

To see the journey through the rearview mirror. The miles gone by. What lies ahead in relation to what lies behind. We were traveling companions on the pilgrimage, but she crossed the finish line before I did. And that forces an adjustment in my own perspective. Experience has a way of working abstract Christian beliefs deeper into your system.