By Grace Through Faith

When I first arrived in Ghana, everything was unfamiliar to me, as it usually is when you are in a new place. Eventually, during my stay, I learned the route to work, got familiar with the cultural norms, and felt very welcomed by the people. However, it still did not feel like my home to me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the friends I made there. I loved the culture and how welcoming everyone was. I loved how each day was different, and I loved the work I was doing over there. But while there were many things I had in common with the Ghanaians, there were a lot of things that I was very new to and almost seemed alien to me.

Since being home, I have realized that the place that I call “home” is not my true home. This place is where I have grown up, but it’s not my eternal home.

The definition of a home is “the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household”. I am a member of my family, but I won’t always live where I do, currently, for the rest of my life. One day in the future, I will live somewhere else, and I will be part of another household.

However, my permanent home is already promised to me. I will permanently live on the new Earth with my Father. I may not be physically living in my permanent home right now, but I already belong to my Father’s household. I am a child of His.

We have a lot of desires on this earth. We want to be wealthy, have a nice car, have a boyfriend/girlfriend, get married, have a great job, be known, be liked, etc. I grew up with all those desires at some point. However, over the past few months, my desires have started changing.

When I was in Ghana, there were many times where I desired to be back in my house in Madison. I missed my family, my dog, my friends, air conditioning, fried chicken, sweater weather, etc. I would text friends and family on most days. I would call my mom at least once a day, sometimes more. I would schedule a Facetime date with my parents and friends on the weekends. I tried to also stay up to date with the news going on back home.

I did all these things to stay connected with life back in Mississippi. However, do I do enough of these things with my eternal home, my forever home?

Do I spend intentional time with Jesus three times a day? No.

Do I miss my home? Sometimes, but sometimes I enjoy it here because of “insert any desire I listed above”.

Do I schedule time for studying God’s Word? Not consistently.

My mom had sent me a package during my trip, and she gave me some Mississippi postcards to give to my friends that I had met in Ghana. I loved this idea. It also reminded me of how I wanted to share my home with my friends who I met there.

One of my greatest desires is to be home now. My eternal home. I know that that day might be far in the future, but I know that that is going to be an extraordinary day. The greatest adventure yet. However, another desire of mine is to share bits and pieces of my home with others around me. I want to show that what kind of love Jesus shows me. I want to show them what my home is like. I want to teach them what it’s like to know my Father, and how they can find that home too.

The desires I listed earlier are all wonderful blessings that we might have in this life. However, nothing will fulfill us as Jesus can. Even if you have everything you want, you still won’t find satisfaction without Christ. We won’t be here long, but we have the choice to spend forever with the One who has always loved you, knows you fully, and deeply wants to spend forever with you too.

It’s like a horizon: “the line at which the earth’s surface and the sky appear to meet”. While we physically live on this earth, we can meet with Jesus and focus our hearts on our eternal home.

With love,

Claire