When Will We Be Home?

I lived in the same house my whole life until I left for college. In the three years since then, I have lived in five different places. I still consider the house I grew up in, the one I will return to on Monday for a couple short weeks, to be my home. Yet I also call this house I'm sitting in now home. It seems strange how normal that is to me now, though for the last couple days I have not felt at home.

What defines home for you? Is it the house itself? Perhaps it's the items that you recognize - your bed, the kitchen table, the ugly couch in the living room. Maybe it's the people; after all, home is where the heart is right? That would explain my comfort in calling two places home. My family is in Richmond, while my closest friends are here in Boone. In fact, that even clears up why I have felt like I am in a foreign place all day. Some of the people whom I love most have left town, as the semester has finally finished and Christmas break is here.

Am I sad that they are gone? Of course. Even the knowledge that we will be together again in a month doesn't replace the fact that right now I am apart from those who mean the most to me. When I leave Richmond to return to school in January, it will be the same. Although my family and I will not be separated for an unusually long time, there is a certain emptiness that accompanies that separation.

Doesn't this completely describe our lives here on Earth? Our God, our Father, our Love is in heaven. And while He is present with us on Earth in the Spirit, this is not our home. John Ortberg discusses this thoroughly in his book Faith and Doubt, in what is easily one of the best chapters I have ever read. Just a couple quick thoughts he shares:

"Maybe home is where God is. And maybe it will be awhile before we feel at home."

"We long for home because we know we are not fully there yet."

These made me consider Christmas in a new light. When Jesus came to Earth, He introduced something that had not existed here since the beginning of time - perfection. I imagine that to be with Christ while he was on the earth would not have been unlike being with someone you love in a place you would not normally call home. The world was still full of sin, and man was still unable to stand perfect before God as in the beginning. But even though our nature remained sinful, Jesus came to redeem us. And He came to us so that we would later be able to come to the Father.

We may have to wait a while before we are with God, but as I have said before, it should be something we anticipate eagerly. As we look forward to Christmas, not only can we celebrate Christ's coming but we can await the day when we are home. Any pain, disappointment, sadness, or despair that we feel in this world should serve only as a reminder that one day we will no longer be away from home.

No more disconnection

Show me revelation

And shine a light onto the road

Though I know salvation

There is separation

And my heart it cries for home

~ Paul Colman

Colder Than A Bald Penguin

Winter is finally starting to settle in! I am much more excited about the cold air than many people, even though the snow hasn't quite taken over our town yet. I find it much easier to be optimistic about a decent skieason when I'm not able to wear short sleeves in December though, so this last week has been quite nice.

I always find it difficult to find things to do once it gets colder. The mountains provide plenty of activities during the warm months, but unless you're skiing there aren't too many options when it's below negative freezing. Here are a few things we've been occupying ourselves with these past few cold days.

* Video games. We're guys, what do you expect? When you have some down time, shooting aliens or kicking around a soccer ball (read "pushing buttons") is a great time waster without having to face the frigid air.

* Jigsaw puzzles. Another great way to spend free time, if you have the patience. Fortunately my roommate and I both enjoy them, despite our general lack of any notable attention span. While some people may find them frustrating, for me it's been a wonderful means of keeping stress down as exams approach.

* Bringing Christmas to the home. My sister was kind enough to find a tree proportional to our house, and it has been a great reminder of the approaching celebration of Christ's birth. Not only that, it compliments our always-present Christmas lights around the room and the smell is always an excellent addition to any home. Of course we had to decorate it appropriately!

How do you keep busy when it's too cold to go out?

Waiting On Our Feet

What are you waiting for?

I, along with thousands of other college students, am currently waiting for the next two weeks to be past. The semester is coming to a end and the stress is everywhere, between exams, papers, shopping, and holiday plans. To say it's a busy time of year would be a gross understatement.

Waiting rarely involves simply sitting around until something happens though. Think about something you've had to wait for. What did that process look like? Anticipation? Fear? Impatience? Excitement? Depending on what you're waiting for, there can be quite a variety of emotions involved.

To narrow it down, think about something that you specifically were eager about, but had to wait for. The first thing that comes to my mind is our family's annual beach trip. Every year we spend a week at the beach, the only part of the year that everyone is on vacation together for any extended amount of time. From the moment everyone arrives home after leaving to the day we return the next year, every one of us is looking forward to that week. In fact, I am already excited about it now, even though I have over eight months more to wait.

My anticipation of that week invokes a number of different feelings. I get impatient knowing that it will be quite a long time before I no longer have to wait anymore. I am excited thinking about the fun I expect to have. There is even a calming effect, knowing that although I have so long to wait, I will have an entire to week to relax and unwind. My anticipation of that week makes me long for the months to pass quickly so it will be here sooner.

One of the things that I love so much about the Christmas season is Advent itself. Looking forward to Christmas Day is very exiting for me. As I was reminded recently, we not only anticipate the celebration of Christ's coming to our world, but we also eagerly await His return. When we consider that as well, there is even more reason to be excited. Awaiting Christ should not be something we do in a nonchalant manner. His coming is appropriately viewed with uncontainable joy and excitement. If we so frequently find ourselves impatient waiting for things in this world, how much great should our yearning for Him be!

This has always been one of my favorite songs of the season, and the lyrics could not more accurately portray our desire during Advent.

Come, thou long expected Jesus

Born to set thy people free

From our fears and sins release us

Let us find our rest in Thee

Israel's strength and consolation

Hope of all the earth thou art

Dear desire of every nation

Joy of every longing heart

Born thy people to deliver

Born a child and yet a King

Born to reign in us forever

Now thy gracious kingdom bring

By thine own eternal spirit

Rule in all our hearts alone

By thine all sufficient merit

Raise us to thy glorious throne

~Charles Wesley