Thousands of people hike the twenty-one-mile Rim to Rim Grand Canyon trail. They probably feel like it takes forever and a day during the heat of summer. The trail includes a one-mile hike down and another up. Most hikers require an overnight stay in the canyon. The park suggests most visitors not try that trail in the hottest weather. Temperatures reach over 100° F.

Forever and a day means a long time.

Forever is eternal or always. It will never end, so we cannot add time to it. Forever and a day simply adds emphasis. It exaggerates the idea.

We wish some experiences would end quickly.

They feel like they last forever.

• Illness
• Tests
• Boring speeches
• Workdays when we want to go home

We look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

We wish other experiences would last forever.

• Favorite vacations
• Love for family
• Fun with friends

All who follow Jesus have an eternal home in heaven.

• Time without end in perfect peace with God
• No more sorrow or pain (or boring speeches)
• Joy beyond anything we can imagine.

At the end of the road, we have no better way to spend forever and a day.

“After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NIV).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion.

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