Coming Home (05/06/2024)

This past week, my oldest daughter and I traveled to Sioux City (430 miles away) to see my mother and siblings who live there. We were blessed to have great accommodations, but they weren’t home. For a “rut person” such as myself, road trips are not just exciting, they are also challenging. I can’t just make a gallon of brewed tea on impulse. I can’t just take a break in my favorite chair on my porch. I’m not surrounded by my favorite things. I take home for granted, at times, until I’m not there.

The trip offered a few surprises that I was totally responsible for such as not being able to sleep as usual because I forgot to pack my box fan for the “white noise.” Also, forgetting my laptop charging cord meant a special trip to Best Buy for a power adapter. I don’t travel enough, I’ve learned, to maintain my packing skills.

The weather provided a host of challenges. We drove into storms on our first day and the storms lingered over us the whole time. I missed my porch with a roof and a dry chair to sit upon by a table to place my tea looking out on a familiar view. By my final day on the road, I was beginning to feel like Noah. If I’d been home, I’d have been able to take it all in stride.

But then there were the things I was supposed to see and didn’t realize it in advance. Sioux City has changed since I lived there in the late 60s. There is a huge homelessness crisis there. Daily, as I drove from my hotel to visit with family, regardless of my path, I encountered the homeless, in lines at the shelters, on street corners with signs, sitting on benches surrounded by their possessions. The images still tenderize my whole being. What is the story behind each face?

Being home again, sleeping well, bringing in the day on my porch with my LORD and a good cup of coffee, I am filled with gratitude. I vow not to take my home for granted. I promise to be part of the solution for those I encountered who have no home. I am not sure how yet, but I know that I am meant to find a way.

And I am amazed at how the LORD makes use of whatever I’m doing and wherever I am to call me closer. The LORD used my adventure with my daughter to remind me that my life isn’t about retreating in comfort surrounded by the familiar but rather about the journey to my real home, my journey to life in abundance with my LORD. This morning, still a bit tired from the “road trip,” I am energized spiritually, recognizing that my journey home continues.

This morning, I realized I’ve much to consider such as staying on mission. I also need to be more open to the needs of others who are also “on the way.” But the desire for life at home with my LORD is wonderfully fresh this morning, stirring within me. I thank the LORD for the trip that reminded me of who I am and who I’m called to be. I thank the LORD for restoring in me the desire for the journey again and the longing for my real home.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.