Several years back, I gave my mom a hand towel for her kitchen that reads, "HOME IS WHERE YOUR MOM IS". This little decorative towel still adorns the oven in my parents' home...which is no longer occupied by both parents. Someone asked me the other day how I was doing and I told them I was handling each day as it comes; but that the best way to describe the way I feel on a daily basis, is the way I felt as a child when I was homesick. As a child, like most little girls, I was invited to sleepovers very regularly. What made me being invited a bit different is that I always had an "escape plan" for if I got homesick...which sadly happened a handful of times. I can remember my precious mama dropping me off at friends' houses and her hugging me and telling me, "just remember, if you need to come home, no matter the time...I will come pick you up". You see my mama knew...she knew what my mind was fearing without ever having to say a thing. She knew that I was what she called, "a homebody". I loved home. I loved being at home. I felt safe at home. Home was exactly what the towel says, it was where my mom was. After using the analogy of feeling homesick, I realized that that's exactly what I am...I am homesick. You see the towel is still the absolute truth...my home is still where my mom is. As believers we are all homesick, and longing for a day, when we are no longer surrounded by the pain and sin of this world.
"For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come". Hebrews 13:14
In college, I can remember going home for the weekend and my mom running out to the driveway to greet me...because that's who she was. She greeted us with open arms, with kisses, with so much excitement and exuberance. She greeted us this way my whole life...even as a parent, I would pull into their drive and the kids would spot her rounding the back corner of their house to get her hands on us all. Today, as I consider my past homecomings with my mom, I can't help but tear up considering the homecoming she received in heaven on December 17th, 2017. As a new year begins, I am so thankful that I have a homecoming to long for...and more importantly to live for. The Lord has given each of us a purpose and will use each of us to bring honor and glory to Him. There is such an amazing assurance in knowing that the Lord's hand is in every detail of our lives...even in our failures, our disappointments, when we feel we are at our worst...He is there. He will take all our brokenness and piece it together to bring beauty from ashes. I pray that as we all embark on a new year, that we will cling to the hope that comes from new beginnings. Jesus Christ offers the greatest new beginning of all in the salvation and new life that comes from knowing Him and loving Him. I celebrate this new year that my mom had a new life in Christ and because of her love for Jesus I can have peace in knowing that HOME IS WHERE MY MOM IS. If you're reading this, thank you. I truly cannot thank my friends and family enough for all the love, prayers, and encouragement as I continue to share my grief journey. Thank you all!
-Bethany Smith
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