Maybe you’re sick of social distancing. Or sick of people griping about social distancing.
Maybe you’re sick of seeing people out without masks on. Or sick of seeing people wearing masks all the time.
Maybe you’re sick being in your house or everyone’s impatience. Sick of all the griping, fearmongering, or being called afraid when you just plain ‘ole feel compassion.
I don’t know what you’re sick of, but I’m almost sure you’re sick of something at this point. It’s been such a strange and uncomfortable time, and more than that, by any modern standard it’s been a long time.
We went almost 77 days with no one but our family and I can assure you that even in a mostly healthy and comfortable environment that’s a long time to do the same thing with the same people every day. (I can hear my wild west settling ancestors laughing at me from here.)
So I get that we are just sick of it. But whether we are sick of staying home or sick of people trying to rush the process I think what we mostly are…is homesick.
We are all longing for the past when it was easy and comfortable, when we could be near each other and sing loud songs in enclosed spaces. Or we are longing for a future when we can see more than eyebrows to determine if someone is smiling or people can lean in to building small businesses again.
What we are really longing for is is time without hurt. A time without tears and insecurity. Where we don’t have to fight so hard against the pain of financial loss or the surrender so deeply to the grief of losing someone we love.
We are homesick for heaven.
It makes sense our natural response would to be strong arm our way into creating that heaven right here and right now. You’ve probably already noticed, that isn’t working. We are all just working against each other.
It helps to name it. Acknowledge this truth: I’m homesick for heaven.
The sheer act of acknowledging it frees us from having to control it, and allows us to surrender it to our Creator. Of course we want to soothe the pain and heal the hurst, but when we understand those feelings as a longing for heaven, we can point people to Jesus. Only in Jesus will we truly find the comfort our weary souls need in order to offer some compassion to someone else’s weary soul. Only He offers forgiveness, kindness, gentleness, and the redemption we crave from this experience. Only He can make all things new.
With that said…we are moving.
Yup, you heard that right.
If you’ve been following along for any amount of time you know that three years ago we begged to buy some land and then proceeded to build our dream house. Exactly to our specifications. Wrap around porches, cathedral ceilings, and a cozy loft library.
But when the world fell apart, we realized somewhere along the way we had ceased to be homesick.
Our home had become our comfort. It was too easy to lay back instead of take a stand. It was too easy to be sidelined instead of walking with Jesus. We had become the rich young ruler. Willing to follow Jesus only if it didn’t cost us anything. If we didn’t have to rock the boat, cause too much trouble. We wanted it all to stay the same.
So we are giving it up to travel around the country for a year or so.
We have no illusions, we don’t expect to find home on the road, we want to feel homesick again. Not homesick for a red barn sitting on four acres, but homesick for heaven.
We want to long for rest in Jesus, long for His presence no matter where we are present.
So today let’s all acknowledge we are homesick. All our fears and frustrations can be committed to the heart of Jesus. Because we aren’t really sick of it all, we are homesick for heaven.
Follow along with our adventures?
When You're Kind of Sick of it All