home is wherever I’m with You

"For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere."  Psalm 84:10
 
Home.
Home is a warm embrace
Home is a sweet fluffy pup
Home is laughter and cuddles
Home is free laundry and hot showers
Home is my own bed
Home is…
 
Home is no longer one place anymore. Home is palm trees and coconuts. The smell of tortillas and sweat. The sound of passionate worship and pouring down rain. The taste of fresh guacamole, sweet bananas, and tangy pineapple. The touch of the warm Guatemalan sun and hugs from my brothers and sisters. Long talks late into the night. Endless smiles and contagious giggles from precious children. Blank stares and hurting eyes. Bright colors and friendly shouts in the markets. Singing and dancing everywhere we go. The whisper of my Father's voice and the comfort of His love.
 
Home is wherever I'm with You.
 
Sometimes things that once seemed so familiar, are not so familiar anymore. It is so hard to come "home" when you've left part of your heart in a place. The places I feel at home are places of beautiful community, good food, joyful laughter, and the love and peace of Christ. The hardest part about leaving one home to go to another, is that part of my heart remains behind. But I am learning that no matter where I am, my home is in Christ. I am learning to feel at home in my Father's arms. Everything in this world is so temporary, and we're never too comfortable for long, because we're not meant to be comfortable here.
 
As hard as it is to be away from Guatemala, and the beautiful people I lived with for 2 months – I know that I am here in the US for a time now, and I need to be present here, and enjoy the community I have around me. Because it seems wherever I go, the Lord blesses me with incredible community. No matter where I am – Apex, Greensboro, Kenya, Guatemala, and soon South Africa…I have a home, and a family.
And when I think about my brothers and sisters around the world whom I miss so much, I find comfort knowing that one day we will be all together again, this time for good.

 
"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18