I’m staying at my sister-in-law’s place, taking care of my niece while her mother’s away at a work conference. It’s a nice apartment, spacious, yet cozy. I have my stuff here, in my suitcase, like you do when you aren’t home. Toiletry bag is hanging on the back of the bathroom door, brought my own pillow, and even have my own fuzzy slippers.

However, as I listen to the sleet hit the windows (winter storm in North Texas), I also hear the (apparently heavy) man walking around in the apartment above me. I hear people getting into their cars below, cursing the weather, and more traffic, beyond, on the main road. The ice maker sounds different than mine, and there are some sort of expand/contract noises in the walls. All normal to apartment living, but different from my home out in the country.

As you know, I often stay with my daughter in Florida, sleeping on an air mattress in the open, upstairs loft. Neither location affords me the comforts of my own “normal,” and while I love being with family and helping care for all the little people in my world, there is a sensation that never fails to come over me when I walk back through the doors of my own house. A sensation that says…

I belong here.

I breathe a deep sigh of satisfaction that this is home…my home. And all is as it should be.

There’s a reason that traveling through this life can often feel ill-fitting, and maybe a little uncomfortable. You enjoy being here, certainly. You enjoy the scenery, and the experiences, and the people, but, at the end of the day, you’re a little tired of digging through your suitcase, and looking for things in an unfamiliar place. You long for your own bed and the sounds of your own space.

One day, when you walk through the gates of heaven, you’ll understand. You’ll feel a sensation come over you that says…

I belong here.

You’ll breathe a deep sigh of satisfaction that this is home…my home.

And all will be as it should.

Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives. ~ 1 Peter 2:11 MSG