Not Home Yet

“Are we almost there?”

“No”

“Are we halfway almost there?”

“No.”

“How long is it going to take before we get there?”

“I don’t know.  We’ll get there when we get there.  Now stop asking!”

Anyone that has a child or has just been a child on a road trip can easily recognize the conversation above.  Knowing that the time is getting shorter until they finally arrive at their destination and they can finally escape the confines of their seatbelt seems to make the waiting a little better. 

When our family goes stateside, it is true that we count down the days. It is really great to be with all of our family, friends we love, worship and fellowship with others that speak our heart language, eat American food, go shopping at Walmart and Target, and all the other things that we associate with America.  Friends and family ask things like, “Are you excited to be going home?”  “When will you be coming home?”etc.  But, we don’t own a house in America and we never have. Our parents don’t live in the houses (even the same states!) we grew up in. America is not our home.

We live in a country where most of the time we cannot speak English.  Our mission rents the house for us and provides us with a car to use.  We don’t have a church to attend where we can worship, fellowship, and be in community with people that speak our heart language or understand our culture. There is no McDonald’s or Walmart in the entire country.  And family… they are thousands of miles away.  So, though we call where we live in Senegal “home,” it, too, is not really home.  This is the dilemma of families that serve overseas.

What does that mean?  Are we homeless?  Are we roaming the earth with our kids in tow, like vagabonds?  No, we have a home.  We just haven’t been there yet.

[Jesus said,] Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3

Ever since we became followers of Jesus, He has been preparing a place for us.  This place never needs a new coat of paint, the roof won’t leak, and those we love will always be close by.  And, I mean ALWAYS.  We’ll never have to say goodbye.  I wish you could understand how much that means to me.  We have had to say far too many goodbyes in our nearly two decades of serving in West Africa.  The tears we’ve cried after hugging those we love goodbye could fill up and overflow one of those trunks we pack to bring back to Senegal.
  
So, no, actually, I’m not going home yet.  But, I am getting closer to my destination.  The awesome thing is, I don’t have to wait until Jesus takes me home to experience the joy of being with those I love.  He does give me those precious times together, like we’ll experience very soon.  For that, I’m so thankful.  I’ll just rest quietly in this seatbelt and enjoy the company of the One who is making this journey with me.  Because He said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  Thank you, Jesus.  See you soon!