29. “home”

How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young –
a place near you altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you!
Psalm 84.1-4

I return to the land of my upbringing several times a year since I moved out of my childhood home. At first, it was every weekend. Granted, back then I was attending a college that was less than two hours away and that made the commute home easier than it is now. Now, I’m lucky if I get home more than four times in  a year with the distance and price of gas.

And that’s where I am now: the land of birth.

I can hear the calves bawling through the windows and the stench of dairy air (yes, pun definitely intended if you’re thinking derrière) greets me every time I walk out those doors. I don’t miss the labor nor do I miss the lifestyle, but I do miss the comaderie and the pace.

Life in the middle of nowhere (literally) is slower than life in the city and even though I’ll be wishing for the lights and the sounds and the people in less than 24 hours, I do enjoy the time I get to return home, visit with my parents, reminisce and make new memories. And it’s a great place to recharge and refocus.

Home warms the heart, especially when we’re separated from it. Distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder when it comes to home…and I have several: the land of my birth (my parents’ home), my apartment in the city and my eternal home with Jesus.

Every human being yearns for home or a home that is theirs. Psalm 84 captures the soul-longing we all have: the home where God dwells. We all have that drive, no matter what walk of life or belief we share.

All of us are always on our way home, even though the intermediate experience of “coming home” is a real but temporary joy. As a Christian, my vision of the future is framed by faith and returning to the land of my youth whets my appetite for the courts of the living God and the presence of Jesus, who gave his all for me.

Such an exercise of faith can create a picture acquainted with reality: God’s home is our home. Do not waste your joy of “coming home” to be here and now – use them to focus on the anticipation you have (and the certainty) of our true home: with God.

Tagged: childhood home, giving thanks, gratitude, heaven, home, month of gratitude, thanks, Thanksgiving