There are days when I’m simply homesick. It’s a homesick that isn’t really about a specific physical destination at all – but about a place where I feel most “normal.” A place where my heart feels most settled. I know that, truth be told, I’ll never really feel truly home outside of Heaven. But there is a “place” here on earth where all that the Lord has created me to be is poured out and used up and spent fully. It’s a feeling that conflicts with the “but isn’t home here?” and “but you already have a family” and “but think of all you’d miss if…” logic. It’s a feeling that sets my heart dreaming of what might be, of a family that just keeps expanding and growing, of a home that’s not defined by borders, of my grandson playing soccer with kids on a dusty road or my husband teaching men how to grow crops.
Today is one of those days. I woke up with homesick in my heart. I woke up longing to breathe in the comfort of discomfort, the familiarity of the unfamiliar, the community that exists when the common things are grace and mercy and love and laughter and tears.
And today, the Lord gave me a little gift. He whispered to a friend in Uganda. And she whispered to her friends at Arise Africa International. And the home that’s not defined by borders – the family that just keeps expanding and growing – came to visit for a while, to tell me about a day of swimming, to let me see some smiles. And to sing a little song.
“Home wasn’t a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.” ~Sarah Dessen
So, what does home look like for you? Is it a place? Is it people? And do you ever feel homesick?
~Ronne