Home

We have a saying here in America (I don't know if this has gone worldwide!) - "Home is where the heart is."  The familiarity of home conjures up memories as we age, memories often triggered by a simple smell or sound.  Many of us enjoy family get-togethers during the holidays, which are fast approaching here as Thanksgiving is in less than 3 weeks.  We become wrapped in traditions, smells, tastes, and arms of loved ones during these precious times.  As human beings created in the image of God, we seek comfort in the familiar, yet this earth is not our final home.
During the last several years, I've lost friends that I've known through my church and work.  My friend Nancy passed away several months ago after a year-long battle with cancer.  She was close to my age, a lovely person who dearly loved the Lord and had everything for which to live.  But in reality she's home now, home in heaven with the One who made her and loved her more than anyone on earth.  I'm sure she'd never trade the glories of that place for the comforts of home on this earth.
My mother-in-law is 89 years old and is now in the hospital due to an infection.  Most of us would think that she's closer to home than me because I'm only 62 years of age, but no one knows if that's true.  God, in his wisdom, doesn't allow us to know the time of our death, which is a good thing.  Yes, those with grave illnesses know that they are doing to die sooner, but they never know the exact day or moment.  As I age, I've realized that I'm closer to being 'born' into heaven than I am to being born here on this earth, my final home, my eternal, real home.  Life is so fleeting on this earth that we truly can't fathom the expanse of eternity with no measure of time.  Even as I love my life on this earth, I look forward to being with God, to being in His presence, to being free from all the problems, illnesses, limitations, frustrations, endless work, and struggles that come with living here.  I'm looking forward to seeing family that's gone on before and to reunite with my friend Nancy, who I'm sure will have a fabulous garden growing under her tender care. 
My heart longs for my eternal home -- does yours?  Do you know the location of your eternal home?  Remember that there are two of them.