When Home Hurts

Originally published Thursday, 14 November 2013.

It’s the child who lingers as long as possible on the school grounds after the building as been locked, for fear of what he might find at home.

It’s the husband who stays late at the office every night, then heads to the bar for drinks to decrease the number of hours his wife is able to nag him when he eventually drags himself home.

It’s the widow who cries silent tears into the screaming void of an empty house.

As I mentioned in the preface to this series, nobody has the same concept or definition of home … not even two children raised in the same house.

For far too many,

home hurts.

Almost every visit I made to the States during the ten years I lived in South Africa was motivated by my mom’s terminal illness.

While I was always grateful for the opportunity, there remained a nagging fear gnawing at the pit of my stomach, as I never knew what I would find on the other side of the ocean.

Often, it hurt.

It was wonderful and sometimes unbearably painful all at once.

If you are in a situation where home hurts, take heart.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).

There will be a day when He will wipe every tear from our eyes.

And best of all, He is preparing a place for us.

A place where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Rev. 21:4).

If you are a believer in Christ and home hurts for you, rest in the hope that the best home is yet to come … in the presence of God, for all eternity.

This is Day 25 of Defining Home in 31 Days.  Click here for a full list of posts in this series.

 

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