December 21^st is always highlighted on my calendars.  The Winter Solstice is extremely important to me.  No, not because it’s exactly a month before my birthday.  Rather, it marks the end of the shrinking amount of daylight and ushers in the beginning of the “days” growing longer. 

I celebrate the Solstice every year!  Not with some radical or unusual activity, but with a moment (or a number of moments!) of joyful reflection.  We are finally trending toward Spring!

I actually enjoy aspects of each of the four seasons.  There are unique activities to engage in and events to enjoy regardless of which page on the calendar is currently displayed. 

But of the four seasons, Winter is my least favorite.  This was true when we lived in soggy and seemingly sunless Western Washington at this time of year; it is still true now that we live in snowy and icy Michigan.

December 21^st is a marker of change; a turning of a corner; a day of hope; a reminder that more desirable seasons (at least to me) are on the way!

Which got me thinking.  There are a LOT of similar situations in life – times when we endure less pleasant prelims with our eyes on the better things that are yet to come.  So much of our current existence consists of getting through the “less pleasant” so we can enjoy the more pleasant.

Here are a few examples that came to my mind:

I well remember the grueling, gritty task of baling hay … and the fantastic feast the farmer’s wife laid out which followed.  Similarly, I recall being sweaty and filthy from working in the fields for summer jobs … and the refreshing jump into the Sebewaing River off the local railroad bridge to cool off and clean up.

Other examples would be mowing the lawn or weeding the garden or flower beds … and the pleasure of looking on the manicured result.  Similar interior tasks might be vacuuming the carpets, sweeping the floors, dusting the furniture, washing the dishes, or doing the laundry … and the satisfaction that follows.

A more extreme situation might be cleaning the toilet bowls … and the fresh smell and nicer appearance afterwards.

Even edibles can offer some cons before the pros that follow.  I find peeling potatoes a pain … but I thoroughly enjoy tators with my meat.  Or how about the typically monumental pre-holiday meal prep … which culminates in the magnificence of tables covered with delicious food surrounded by loved ones?

Cleaning fish isn’t pleasant … but a fish fry of fillets is scrumptious!  Eviscerating a newly harvested deer is messy, and deboning and processing the meat time-consuming … but the steaks and sausage that end up in the freezer make for many enjoyable moments the rest of the year.

Also, I’ve never particularly enjoyed waking up early in the morning and walking into a forest or woods in the dark.  However, being there as the woods “wakes up” is priceless.  Not to mention the anticipation of what might happen shortly.

It’s even that way before vacations.  I know I’m not alone when I say it’s almost too much work to go away.  This is often true about most extended trips, but especially when preparing for a camping, fishing or hunting trip where extra gear is involved.  But then one catches their breath and experiences the joy and blessings of being gone!

This preliminary unpleasantness followed by satisfaction creeps into many (maybe most or even all?) life events.  Christmas decorating, shopping, and wrapping all happen before the celebrating.  Many hard years of education lead, finally, to graduation; much planning and preparation precedes the wedding; and a tremendous amount of time, work and stress are involved in moving … until finally getting settled.

Of course, I would be remiss not to mention nine months of uncomfortable pregnancy – and painful labor and delivery! – that the wonderful women in our lives endure before holding a newborn baby in their arms.

So much of life involves difficulties leading to blessings.  It could even be said that life itself is a challenging preliminary to what follows! 

Certainly God fills our lives with astounding blessings and allows us to enjoy incredible experiences.  Yet, sin is always with us, and our sinful lives lived in a sin-wrecked world carries a good share of hardships and heartaches. 

The Apostle Paul addresses this very thing, and suggests a very specific mindset about it.  “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

Simply stated: Life is hard!  So lift your eyes off your temporary troubles and focus instead on your eternal home in heaven where there are none!

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him ” (1 Cor. 2:9) – THESE are the inconceivably wonderful blessings our Savior has waiting for us in his salvation.  We are comforted and encouraged when we concentrate on them while struggling in the here-and-now.

Even if perhaps someone dismisses the concept that life in this world is a struggle, I would think they would have to agree that the very end of life certainly is.  Death is no picnic.

But even there, the undesirable leads to the most desirable thing!  For believers in Jesus’ atoning suffering and death, and his victorious resurrection … death is but the doorway to life.  True life. A perfectly joyous, pure and unending life with Jesus – the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life!

Yes, the best is yet to come!  As the name of this blog infers, by God’s grace we are “Heading to Heaven!”  And that indeed is the very best conclusion of all, making everything else easier.

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Did some different examples of unpleasant prelims leading to pleasant results occur to you while reading this post?  If so, please share them in the comments section below!  I’d love to read them.

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Revelation 7:14-17
And [the angel] said [to John], “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Revelation 21:3-7
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” 

Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.