Homesick

The summer I was seven, I attended Camp Pottawattamie Hills. The youngest girls stayed in cabins called The High Lands. As my parents dropped me off that Sunday afternoon, I was full of wonder and excitement for the week ahead. My sleeping bag had been rolled out and my clothing and personal items unpacked. We hiked back to the main gathering area where I said goodbye to my parents for the next five days. Noticing the hint of fear in my eyes, they reminded me of the hiking, swimming, campfires and crafts that awaited me during our time apart. Friday was not that far away, after all.

As some of the other girls in my cabin cried that night after lights out, I experienced only a few sniffles as I envisioned the events that my parents had spoken of. The first day was so full of new experiences and making new friends that I had little time to miss home. There was a tinge of sadness when mail was handed out during afternoon rest time. One girl in my cabin had received a letter from home. She had seasoned camp parents who had written a letter prior to her leaving and mailed it from the local post office after dropping her off. By the second day a few more girls received mail. By Wednesday, when still no letter had arrived for me, all I wanted was to go home. I missed my family and friends so much that camp activities were no longer attractive.

When a letter finally arrived on Thursday (it had been written and mailed on Monday evening) it helped some, but by this time all I wanted was to go home. I missed home and had become so jealous of the other girls reading their mail that I had forgotten to look to the joy and excitement of every activity I participated in. My counselors, refusing to let me sulk, convinced me to participate in all planned events. After what seemed an eternity, I was dragging my suitcase and sleeping bag to the main area where I again saw my parents smiling faces. With open arms they welcomed me and it was time to go home.

The same type of homesickness can occur spiritually. As we consider an eternity with God, we can and should develop a longing for heaven. As our journey here on earth progresses, we may find ourselves sharing this sentiment expressed by the sons of Korah. “My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” (Psalm 42:2 AMP) We long to see God face to face.

Before leaving the earth Jesus gave this promise. “Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me. In My Father's house there are many dwelling places (homes). If it were not so, I would have told you; for I am going away to prepare a place for you. And when (if) I go and make ready a place for you, I will come back again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:1-3 AMP) He would return to God the Father and await our coming. “In a little while you will no longer see Me, and again after a short while you will see Me.” (John 16:16 AMP)

The apostle Paul longed for heaven. “But I am hard pressed between the two. My yearning desire is to depart (to be free of this world, to set forth) and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; But to remain in my body is more needful and essential for your sake.” (Philippians 1:23-24 AMP) Paul knew that true joy awaits us in the presence of Jesus Christ. He also knew the importance of our work as Christians here on earth and that we must never give up. “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” (Galatians 6:9 AMP)

Like the camp savvy parents of my cabin mate, God has written us a letter prior to our entrance here on earth. The Bible is God’s love letter to us. When we become homesick we can open it up and find encouragement from our Lord. Our lives have also become a letter of encouragement to others. “You show and make obvious that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, not written with ink but with [the] Spirit of [the] living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:3 AMP) Therefore, like Paul, we will continue to do the work of God until the day He calls us home. “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 AMP) That longing for eternity gives us purpose here on earth and expectation of the fulfilled promises of God for everlasting life.

In the last chapter of the Bible, we find this expression of that longing. “The [Holy] Spirit and the bride (the church, the true Christians) say, Come! And let him who is listening say, Come! And let everyone come who is thirsty [who is painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported, and strengthened]; and whoever [earnestly] desires to do it, let him come, take, appropriate, and drink the water of Life without cost.” (Revelation 22:17 AMP) Despite any trials and tribulations that come our way, we await the return of Jesus and our everlasting life with Him. “…Yes (it is true). [Surely] I am coming quickly (swiftly, speedily). Amen (so let it be)! Yes, come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20 AMP)

On the two hour drive home from camp, my parents drew out and listened to my recap of the week’s activities. Camp had actually been great. My homesickness had caused me to miss out on some of that. When we see God face to face, He will recount our lives and we will see the true value of all that He has done in our lives.

If you feel homesick for eternity, go to the letter that God has sent and be encouraged. Walk in the awareness of His presence and His perfect plan for you.