Home and hope

I started thinking about heaven this morning.


After a conversation with a fellow missionary about the difficulties of returning to my "home" in the USA and my grieving process of leaving my "home" in Holland, I wondered if it will feel the same way when I leave this world for my heavenly "home".

 
Will I take painful steps forward while looking over my shoulder at my former familiar life?
Will I miss my friends, the culture of earth when I arrive in heaven like I do now arriving in the USA?
Will I feel as foreign as I feel now?
Will I feel like I've lost my way and feel so blind and awkward in friendships and society and neighborhood and....?

I sure hope not!

I imagine that I will emerge into a sense of life and being that I'd only tasted in brief encounters that planted a longing into my soul for this place.
I hope that my heart will burst with joy and feel incredibly at home, beloved and safe, all at the same time.
I believe that there will be some sort of welcome home celebration with angels singing and all my friends and family who've arrived before, embracing me with smiles and laughter and time to talk and recount our experiences.

I sure hope so!

One thing is certain... Jesus will be there, even as He is here and was with me back there, too. Yes, that is what is certain and sure about what and where home is:  Jesus!