Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Home........
"This Is Home"
"Home".....don't you think that's a beautiful word? Home for me leaves a connotation of all that is good.....love, security, warmth, peace, solitude, joy, serenity, calmness....all that says welcome to my weary body when I've been away too long.Just one step inside the door and that sigh escapes my lips...I am home. Then, there are other times when this feels more like a prison than home. My soul gets sick for my real home, my heavenly home. That place that Jesus has prepared for me that will be perfect in every way and meant just for me.
Home, where I belong. I remember those old hymns about home when I was growing up in our little country church. Oh Think of the Home Over There....Home of the Soul....Precious Memories (...and old home scenes of my childhood in fond memory appear...)....I Feel Like Traveling On (My heavenly home is bright and fair, I feel like traveling on...)...and this was my favorite, Going Home. Momma and Ms. Dean used to sing it often.
All those things make me lonely for a time that has passed and a time yet to come. I cannot go back and I cannot remain here; it is the future that beckons me to my heavenly home. As this old song says...."What a day that will be, When my Jesus I shall see, And I look upon His face, The One who saved me by His grace; When He takes me by the hand, And leads me through the Promised Land, What a day, glorious day that will be." Then, of course there's Won't It Be Wonderful There! ABSOLUTELY!!!
So my heart calls me home, to that place I've never seen before...........Beulah Land. "I'm kind of homesick for a country to which I've never been before; no sad goodbyes will there be spoken for time won't matter anymore...." I am longing for that day, but until then I have a mission to complete here. I must not allow the home that awaits me to distract me from my journey's mission...to tell those who have no hope that all hope begins and ends in Jesus.
I see those poor souls on the street and I think how blessed I am. I have a home, a roof over my head, warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I am protected from the elements....wind, rain, snow, ice, humidity, extreme temperatures....yes, how blessed I am! When I see them, my heart aches for them. I don't know their stories, but maybe their story isn't the important part. We all have our own story to tell, but we also have a commonality among us from which no one is immune...we are sinners, either saved by grace or still searching for grace.
Dear Father, help me to be vigilant to lift my neighbor and help to make their 'here' better so they can care about their future. Help me to help them to see that nothing in their past, present or future can stop the love of God from reaching them if they ask for it. Help me to speak kindly, to treat them with respect and dignity, to love them unconditionally and pray for them continuously. I am them....but for the grace You gave me.
Yes, this is home, but it's only temporal; that home awaiting is my goal. May I ever be careful to remember that each day I travel my journey. My highest calling is to sacrifice so that others may know His love, His mercy, His grace, His presence in their life.
The Lord is the one who keeps you safe.
So let the Most High God be like a home to you.
So let the Most High God be like a home to you.
Psalm 91:9 (NIRV)
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2 comments:
I know exactly how you feel because I feel that way myself many times. I love your home. It looks so warm and welcoming!
Diane,
I hope this spring has been a time of encouragement and new hope for you.
And, yes, we all long for that time when "home" will be our permanent one with the Father.
Blessings to you - marsha
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