The Homecoming

Everyone was home for Christmas.
The time varied as to when each of my children came home.
Yet, for a good portion of the Christmas weekend it was as it used to be.
Sort of.

My five children are now five adults who live elsewhere, but come home for a time.
The large bedroom that used to be shared by my daughters, is now for our oldest son.
The room that used to be shared by my boys is now the room of my younger son.
My youngest daughter, who is in college, still has the same room she always had.

My oldest daughter slept in her sister’s room; the oldest and youngest bonding.
My middle daughter slept in the finished basement on the sofa that everyone says is so comfy.
We had a full house just as I like it.
It was lots of cooking and sharing meals, lots of conversation, and laughs over memories.

Everyone was refreshed and renewed.
Everyone has jobs and responsibilities that call them away.
Everyone has family ties that call them home.
It is such a blessing to remember who you were and who you are down deep.

I smile at the stories that get funnier with each telling.
I laugh at the silly dancing that happens in the kitchen, which makes the floors shake.
It warms my heart to see the new board games opened and played after the rules are read.
The fun spirit of competition permeates the kitchen as they play the game on the kitchen table.

My oldest son was reminiscing about sharing a room with his brother.
He remembered the music they listened to and the football comforters on their beds.
He remembered what Christmas morning was like, waiting patiently until the agreed upon time.
He remembered when the others would all come in and they would talk about their presents.

It’s my room but it’s not my room, my oldest son said looking in from the hallway.
He could tell me where everything used to be and which way the beds faced.
As my boys got older and taller, they got too big for their twin beds.
We bought double beds and a chest of drawers for each.

Remember when you read to us and you sat on the floor between our beds?
Their twin beds were bunk beds that were separated.
I sat on the floor, leaning against their nightstand and read to them each night.
I remember when you read Little House on the Prairie until we asked you to stop, he said.

I laughed at the memory.
My girls loved the Little House books and I thought my boys would enjoy them as well.
There were Indians and covered wagons; there was hunting and wolves.
There was also calico and gingham, braids and hair ribbons.

It was at that point, my boys asked me to read something else.
I remember the night they asked me with the serious looks on their faces.
Mom, this is not a boy’s book! Can you please read us a boy’s book?
I tried so hard not to laugh at their request.

We began The Indian In the Cupboard, which had just enough action and humor for my boys.
This book had no calico and gingham so they were happy.
Every night, I sat on the floor and read a chapter or two.
My boys would listen in their pajamas with their teeth brushed and their prayers said.

I knew my son was seeing all of that in his mind’s eye.
I know I was as I looked into the room.
It was his room but it was not his room.
My children were home but they are now adults.

Everything is exactly as it should be yet nothing is exactly the same.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1-3)

Jesus is preparing a place for us in His Father’s house.
Jesus will be able to point out where everything will be.
His Father’s house has many rooms.
Jesus will be able to show us the room He has prepared for each of us.

Jesus knows where everything should be.
Jesus stands at the door and looks in.
He can imagine what the room will be like when it is finally occupied.
For us, nothing will be the same.

It will not be the same.
It will be better.
Far better.
It will be beyond what we could ever ask for or imagine.

It will be like coming Home.
It will be a time of stories and laughter.
It will be a time of sharing meals.
It will be a time of fellowship.

We will be renewed.
After our time away, our brief stay in this fallen place, we are finally Home.
We have Family Ties that call us Home.
It is a blessing to finally be seen and known as we truly are down deep.

It is our Homecoming.
Our Homecoming that has no end.
We will finally be in the room that has been waiting for us.
From eternity past, the room has been waiting for us.

Praise God, nothing is as it was.
It is better.
Far better.
We are Home.

2 responses to “The Homecoming”

1. Gina, thank you for sharing this beautiful whisper that God placed in your heart. So true, concerning having everyone home for Christmas – having the house full of adults, as it should be, but not as it was. Beyond my children heading back to their lives, my mother-in-law also took my dog home with her, as we will be traveling a bit over the next couple of months. If there weren’t such sweet memories, and loving relationships, then the quiet house would not be so bittersweet. Thank you also for reminding us of the home that awaits us in heaven, the one we really long for. Blessings my friend for the New Year!

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   • Diane,
     We both know how bittersweet those times really are when our adult children are home. So much of our daily life points to heaven if we just listen and keep our eyes open for those moments. Happy New Year, dear friend.
     Gina

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