Home...

I adore the house in which I live. It is old and quirky. It is small, but affordable. There isn't a master suite. In fact, it has only one bathroom. But, it has enough room for the four of us. And life is full with work and responsibilities. I pause to remember how it is all temporary. This time here is a blink of an eye compared to eternity, yet it sometimes feels so far away. Sometimes my focus is overtaken by the seemingly urgent things of this life.

I told a co-worker this week that I thought I was dying (at least that is what it sounded like). The truth is we are all dying, but to what? Dying to self? There's a line from an old hymn that says. "You have only one life, so soon it will pass. Only what's done for Christ will last." And I want to serve Him in everything; I want to remember my home. I want to focus on things eternal and ponder them all in my heart.

Just after Christmas, I went to the outside storage looking for some frames for Gavin's artwork. In a box I found a plastic bag with old letters and newspaper clippings. One of the letters was written by my great grandmother who died when I was very young. It was a letter to her children. Her husband had already passed, and she wanted to tell them about her final wishes. My eyes spilled liquid as I read about this dear woman's anticipation of her "homecoming" and her plea for her adult children to love and care for each other. And I want it to count. I want to live each day like I am ready for it to be my last. Because, we aren't guaranteed tomorrow.  

And tonight I am thankful for this life, this chance to live for Him right where He has placed me. I also think of those who have gone home already and then this feeling comes unexpected. For a minute I try to recognize what I am feeling. Is it simply nostalgia? No, it's more of a homesickness.



"Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home." ~ C. S. Lewis