Home. Where is that exactly? Is it where you grew up? Is it where your parents live? I was listening to Fernando Ortega today and his song ‘Traveler’ made me think. The chorus is, “Heavenly Father, remember the travelers, bring us safely home”. In essence I have prayed that prayer many times. We have been traveling and we haven’t had a home for a few years and sometimes it has seemed like God has forgotten us. Today, as I stood looking out the window on the city of Tehran, I prayed for the people of this country, that God would bless them, and I thanked Him for bringing us here.

Home. In America we have a saying, “home is where the heart is”, but unless you have been homeless that is just a nice saying that gives you warm fuzzies as you read it. Now, after struggling with being homeless and all that goes with it, I realize that this sentiment is true. Home is where the heart is and my heart is here in Iran, and has been for years. Moreover, my heart is in heaven with Christ and my true home is there with Him, so any earthly home is temporary anyways. In Fernando’s song he says, “I long for my friends and family to remind me where I have been, where I am going and where I come from.” What a wonderful concept to dwell on. How often do you remember where you’ve been, where you’re going and where you come from? I know where I’ve been. I have been in the deepest depths of despair, in the dark, lonely, selfish, prideful, angry, impatient and many more woeful things. I know that I am going to a better place, one that God has made for me and will bring me to when it is the end of my days. One where all the things I have been will be no more. I know where I come from – a life of sin and regret, a childhood full of hurt, a country full of shame that used to embrace God and is now turning away from Him and His statutes. I know also who I am today. I am free. I am covered in grace given through the spilled blood of Christ and humbly accepted when I recognized my need for it. I know I have great friends and family that will remind me of these things. Reliant K has another song I heard lately and the chorus of one song really stuck in my head, “Who I am hates who I’ve been”. This is a trustworthy saying (had to put this in, been reading Paul’s epistles lately). May that always be the case. I am striving to live in such a way that I will be an old woman with no regrets. Is that even possible? I know that love covers over a multitude of sins, and I am thankful for Christ’s love and that he has surrounded me with people that love me and are gracious towards my shortcomings. What things do you know for sure?

Home. Now, when I think of home, I only have to look around me, into my heart, and towards heaven, and I am home. That doesn’t mean I won’t miss places or people where I have lived before, it just means I know where I am going, and that I have hope because of it.