I Am Homesick

Kelsi and I have been in Cambodia for almost a year and a half. When I go to church on Sundays and meet with other missionaries who have been here for twenty plus years, it makes it seem like we have only been here months. When people ask how long we have been here, and I tell them a year and a half, they almost always say, “Oh! You’re a rookie.” Not in a condescending way, just poking fun. No matter how long we have been here, I have the days when I just wish I was home. I was listening to a sermon today, as I washed the dishes, and the preacher was talking about James 1:1 and how the letter was written to the dispersed—those Jews who were longing to return to their home country: Jerusalem. He explained that James’ letter is not only for Jews, however, because all Christians are dispersed and longing to go home. The reality of Heaven is clearer to me now than ever before in my life. In the States, I had moments here and there when I just longed to be in Heaven. Not that I was having a bad day, simply the reality of how perfect Heaven will be overwhelmed me, and I found myself crying, “Come, Lord Jesus, quickly!” Being in Cambodia, I think of the things in America that we have left behind: family, friends, air-conditioned house, clean drinking water, carpet, McDonalds, Chinese Buffet, people who speak my Language, Walmart, deer season, winter weather, and the list goes on and on. The idea is not “woe is me!” It is merely that these longings of a “better” place fill my mind frequently. And now, I find myself making the connection in a more real way about how we should long for Heaven. Because, although I miss home, and long to be there again, I continue the work that God has given me here. I don’t sit at home thinking about how great America would be, and how badly I want a plate of fried rice with General Tso’s Chicken—ok, I do that sometimes. I wake up and go to work. The reality of Heaven being our home does not mean we have no purpose on Earth. The reality of the States being my home does not change the fact that God has a purpose for me here. When I see the connection between my longing for the States and my longing for Heaven, it helps me to fight off homesickness, and it builds my hope. Because one day, whether or not I ever make it back to the States, I will inevitably be in Heaven. The uncertainty of going to my temporary home in the States is remedied by the certainty of my being in Heaven, when God has accomplished all He wants to through me. And so I have hope. I am longing to go home, and whenever I long to go home to the States, God will remind me that even the States is not really where I belong.

BecauseHeLives,

Micah.