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Home…6-26-25

My husband and I don’t sleep as well when we are away from each other. This is ironic as he was on duty a total of over 11 years during our marriage before he retired after 30 years of service. This meant he was away from home for those 24 to 48 hour shifts, I counted up one time, and was surprised at the minimum 4,015 nights we have spent apart. That was before his retirement and that number is a bit larger now. Then, you add to that my nights away as an educator, taking classes for my doctorate, visiting family, etc., and that number is much higher.

I was thinking about this as I sit in my favorite spot drinking my cup of coffee. As my joy in my earthly home increases, my desire for my heavenly home increases. In Philippians 4:23, “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;”. I know my Lord has tasks for me here. I also know where my heavenly home is. There is a comfort and peace within that realization.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have a few upcoming trips I am very much looking forward to. I do love to travel, meet new people, and I do have other obligations that will take me away. You see, our home is not in the buildings or places, it is the people and faces. It is the loved ones that we hold dear. Our home is not where we put our head or clothes, but where our heart is. We look forward to seeing that face, smile, hear the laugh, see the eyes, and feel them in our embrace.

I will take trips away from home. I will be in one place and my family in another. That is life. I am excited to meet some family of my friend. I know that desire. I miss that contact from loved ones who are now in Heaven, and long for those moments. I realize the importance of spending that time with those we hold dear. I understand that longing in our hearts. But now I have that longing for my heavenly home as well.

David and I have a few things in common. Psalm 27:4 states, "One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple".