Homesick

We had a great week in Montana. The experience of introducing our children to skiing was a bit dicey at times. The extreme cold, the gear, the frustration of learning something totally new combined with altitude, a time change and physical exhaustion is a tough combination.

Yet, we really did enjoy ourselves. We were able to spend great quality time together as a family and with old friends, see the breathtaking beauty of Winter out west and disconnect from our daily lives. My trio really did grow to love skiing and had to be forced to quit and return their gear on the last day. They are already excitedly chattering about our return trip.

I think it is important to have realistic expectations of traveling with kids. I once heard someone say about traveling with young children that it is not so much vacation as relocation. Meals still must be provided, lessons still must be taught. We are wives and Moms 24/7.

This morning as we were packing up to come home, K asked: "Mom, how many days is it when you are home sick?"

I thought it was an interesting insight into how her heart was longing for home. She was in a place of pristine beauty, surrounded by the people she loved most and yet something was amiss.

As I thought about it, I could really identify. Not just about missing my home in small town Georgia, but about the aching that I can sometimes feel despite being surrounded by loving relationships, worldly comforts and a pretty fulfilling life.

"If I find in myself a desire in which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." -CS Lewis

The Bible puts it simply. This world is not our home.

But there's far more to life for us. We're citizens of high heaven! Philippians 3:20a The Message

We are here because God has willed us for this time, this place and and this station. We live here fully for as long as He wills it to be. We live the story He has written in a way that brings Him glory and yet in the quiet spaces there is no doubt...There's no place like home.