Home…this word evokes a lot of emotion in us. We see a
picture in our minds of a certain building, a place, or maybe a group of
people. Where is home for you? Is it where you grew up? Or maybe it’s where you’re
living now. Do you feel more “at home” when you’re with a certain group of
people, even if you’re away from the actual building you call home?
Up until I left for college, I had only moved once—when I
was about five years old, so I don’t really remember much about it. Then when I
turned 13, I went on my first mission trip to Monterrey, Mexico. I didn’t feel
at home there immediately, but sometime in the 13 years we went down to Mexico,
I got to know the people we worked with and the community we built houses in. I
felt at home there among my friends and the neighborhood children. After high school, I went to
college and started going to a new church there. I made friends and found my
place at church. After graduation, I moved into an apartment with my sister
and that quickly became home.
Fast forward to May of this year…the lease was up on our
apartment; my sister was getting married and I was leaving the country—where was
home then?! Thankfully, two very good friends took me in and let me stay in
their home while I was in town. Then I left the country and came to Papua New
Guinea (PNG); I was in Ukarumpa for four weeks, staying with friends. From there I
headed up to Madang, to do the Pacific Orientation Course (POC). My shared dorm
room became home. During POC, I called a village home for four weeks. Now that I'm back in Ukarumpa, I've moved
into an apartment with a friend, and then next summer we’ll be house sitting
for some friends for about a year.
So where is my
home?! Well, as much as I love my family, church family, the people in
Monterrey, and my life here in PNG, none of those is ultimately my home. One of
my favorite songs is “Where I Belong” by Building 429. The chorus goes like
this:
All I know is I'm not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong
I’m not saying that I’m there yet; that I’m always totally
okay with not having a permanent home, or that moving around all the time hasn’t
gotten to me occasionally, but the promises of God surpass all the momentary
discomforts of this world. This world is not our permanent home, but we take comfort in knowing that we do belong to God and
are members of His household.
“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,
but you are
fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…”
-Ephesians 2:19
I identify completely with your feelings. I could show you the spot in the street in Campo Grande, Brazil, where I was crossing when I realized that the "home" I thought I was homesick for was not in America. We were very grateful to God for this house that became the still point in all our moves, but ultimately it is heaven I am longing for.
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