[Jesus speaking] (emphasis mine)
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Snow skiing is a sport I don’t claim to have a lot of skill in. I was talking to a friend today at lunch and he was describing an adventure with his son where they got off the groomed trails and into the powder. He said it is much more difficult. (I’ll take his word for it, as I am still mastering the intermediate slopes, last I went skiing). But in order to learn to ski, you really have to let go of your fear of falling and just go for it. You have to get into a rhythm and allow your body to move back and forth in a cadence, so to speak. Once you get scared, it’s over, because you make jerky movements and you become timid. Or take for instance the chair lifts. You end up being up in the air so high, and you have to let go of your fear of heights or you will be miserable. You definitely don’t want to get off in the middle!

Jesus is just finishing up explaining to his disciples that he will be leaving them. Imagine how they felt. The one who showed them true love for God, who modeled power in prayer, and trained them to serve God, healing and casting out demons — this man who loved them so much, this Son of God who they worshiped — he was leaving them.

I can only imagine the worries and doubts that started to flood into their minds. It’s like looking down the hill you went down with your ski instructor, but realizing your instructor is not there to help you, and you are heading into the powder, into the trees.

As if reading their minds, Jesus encourages his disciples in the following ways: 1) He commands them to not allow their hearts to be troubled. This is an act of the will. A choice. 2) He tells them about their future home. He basically says, “I already know where you end up, and it is a really great place.” 3) He tells them that while he must leave, in part to prepare a place for them, HE WILL COME BACK FOR THEM! 4) He tells them they already know the way to the place he is going. Kind of like in Karate Kid, when Daniel thinks all he has been doing is painting the fence and washing cars and Mr. Miagi shows him he actually was learning Karate. So Jesus tells his disciples that through all he has invested in them, they already know the way.

But Thomas is practical, and he doesn’t have a road map to heaven. So Jesus spells it out for him — I Am The Way! The only spiritual path to God the Father is through Jesus! He and the Father are one, and so knowing one is knowing the other.

What worries and cares do we harbor inside our hearts today? Will we lay them at the Savior’s feet? He tells me and you to not let our hearts be troubled. How? By focusing on the one who is The Way, The Truth, and The Life!

Lord, thank you for this recipe for helping us to relieve our worries and stress. I don’t need pills or vacations or some peace and quiet … as much as I just need to dwell with you, my Savior, and rest at your feet!