On Homesickness and Celebration

"Olive! Olive! Olive! Olive! Do you know what day it is?!" The excited whisper could be heard all the way downstairs where I was sipping my coffee, watching the sunrise, and reading the Word about abounding in thanksgiving... I paused for a moment to listen to this interchange of child voices as they instructed me in the virtue of joyful living (at the crack of dawn). "It's Hutson's BIRTHDAY! .... It's Hutson's BIRTHDAY!!"

Truly, there could not have been more excitement in that upstairs room than if it were Christmas morning. I could hear the rustling of covers, the climbing on trunks to reach the bar at the top of the closet, the shuffling of hangers to get just the right outfit, the pitter-patter of feet on the cold stairs, and then...the biggest grins on their sweet princess faces as they stood before me holding their special outfits for the day. "Mommy, it's Hutson's birthday! Can we please wear our Hutson skirts today?"  "Yes you may, my darlings. I am sure Hutson would love you to wear the skirts he made for you on his special day..." (disclaimer: the children like to believe that their cousin made them special skirts. But let's give credit where credit's due- he picked the fabric, and my sister actually made them).

As they ran back upstairs the house began to fill with the aroma of cinnamon rolls (our special treat to celebrate his birthday), and I sipped the last of my coffee as the sun ushered in the morning breeze.

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord,

 so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him 

and established in the faith, just as you were taught, 

abounding in thanksgiving." 

Colossians 2:6-7

I'll be honest. My eldest has entered the stage where she is really missing family and "wanting to be in America." She longs for the relationships of family and doing life with people who understand her and love her and spoil her rotten. Every math problem we do has to be framed as a word problem involving "Lucy and Hutson" and some kind of mischief they have gotten themselves into on Fleur de Lis farm. I see the sparkle of excitement in her eye as we picture their adventures together, and hear the longing in her voice when she asks how much longer it will be until we go back there. It's really heartache for both of us as I walk this road of homesickness with her.



But something else this girl does with abundance is celebrate (i.e. ...abound in thanksgiving). The more ache she feels in that little heart of hers, the more deeply she celebrates the one whom she is aching for and the more excitement she exudes for the day they will be united again. If that's not a picture of the Gospel, I don't know what it is. When we receive through faith the free gift of grace, we are united with the One who made us, knows us, and loves us. We are showered with His love and grace and abundance of free gifts. We are like a bunch of kids given free range on a farm. But as that faith matures through the daily nurturing of God's Word in light of the brokenness we see all around us, we realize that a deeper ache is developing, a homesickness per se. It's an ache for the day when all that is broken world in this world will be made right; when suffering will be no longer; when injustice will not prevail; and when every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The paradoxical thing about the Kingdom is that the Homesickness (i.e. the longing for the Day that's coming), instead of leading us to despair of our present reality, actually prompts us to even now begin celebrating in a deeper way the One whom our hearts are ever longing for. No wonder Paul said, "...for I have learned to be content whether well-fed or hungry, whether facing plenty or in need." It is because as we go deeper in Christ, the longing for heaven supersedes whatever present reality we find ourselves in. The deeper we lean in to Him, the more He equips us to give praise in all things.

Today, I'm thankful for my daily manna of time with Jesus. I'm thankful for God's Word, and I'm thankful for His Spirit, which tenderly instructs me even through the heart of my 6 yr old. I'm thankful for her longing to be known and loved, for the gift of people in her life who do understand her and love her deeply, even from afar. And I'm thankful for her little heart that exudes praise and celebration in the midst of homesickness and longing. I'm thankful for her mischievous cousin, whom we celebrate today. God has a lifelong friendship in the works for these two, and I can't wait to see that journey play itself out.

This is Life.

{longing for home}