Homesick

By Janice L. Dick of Canada

I’ve been feeling homesick lately. It’s not the butterflies-in-the-stomach syndrome of my youth, but a general malaise of spirit as I live and breathe in this crazy, busy, upside-down society.

There are times when I feel as if I don’t belong here, and that’s because I don’t. I was created for a better place, for eternity. We are here for a reason, for a season, and then we go home. And sometimes, the wideness of that thought pulls me to homesickness.

Don’t get me wrong! I have been richly blessed by God in my life with a sweet and secure childhood, a deeply satisfying marriage, and good relationships with our children and grandchildren. I also have lots of good friends and a few amazing ones. The Lord has given me a degree of giftedness for writing, and I thoroughly enjoy that blessing. It’s my opportunity to give back for all I’ve received.

But this world is not my home. I listen to the news and I’m appalled at the disdain for God and the resulting darkness and despair. I see people trying to make sense of life and failing. I see my Christian brothers and sisters falling into the mindset and lifestyle of this fallen world. And I grieve, because this is not the be-all and end-all. It’s just a proving ground, a testing time. I’ve committed to following Christ here and now, and experiencing eternal freedom when this season is done. Glimpses of glory and the kiss of the Spirit keep me going.

So I will continue to love and live, to read and write, to do my best to influence and encourage my fellow travelers. I will, with God’s help, continue to follow the way he’s set for me. But someday soon—and it’s looking sooner than later with the way this world is heading—I’m going home. Then I’ll see Jesus and the results of my feeble but sincere attempts to follow him.

Back in the day, I used to listen to B.J. Thomas, and after he became a believer, he sang a song that will always touch me: Home Where I Belong (the old 1976 version). “If you look and see that homesick feeling in my eyes, I’m going home…”

So let’s walk together along the way, wherever we live and write. Let’s encourage and comfort and take each other’s hands. And when we feel homesick, let’s smile through the tears and remember that “one day when I’m dreaming, and death knocks on my door [or Jesus returns for us], I’ll awake to find that I’m not homesick anymore, ‘cause I’ll be home…where I belong.”