temporary home

those who know me are probably wondering if i could really be referencing a Carrie Underwood song.  believe it or not, ben has had some influence on me ;-)

the chorus:
This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passing through
This is just a stop on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this is my temporary home


clearly, i've had a lot of occasion to contemplate that intriguing phrase:  temporary home.  since moving out of our house, home has been a hotel room (1 night), a vacation rental (4 nights), generous friends' and families' homes (2, 3, and 4 nights), a furnished apartment (6 weeks), and our new apartment (1 week and counting).  tell the girls we're going back to our house, and they will correct you - no, it's an apartment!, but tell them we're going home, and that versatile word accommodates all of the above without protest.

how long does it take you to settle?  at 4 nights, i did unpack at our vacation rental in florida, and we bought a few groceries.  settle?  clearly not.  temporary was the operative word.  at 6 weeks, we unpacked, bought groceries - including the economy size paper towels and toilet paper - and met a few neighbors.  first name basis, talk about kids, friendly but passing.  moving day was always on the horizon.

here we are in rockville, md.  home for the next one? two? four? years.  the majority of the boxes are put away.  i'm slowly learning the local grocery options and restocking.  we're not quite to the friend-finding phase yet but will be soon.  we're looking for a church.  this is home for now.  actually, properly speaking, we've been carrying home and the hope of home around with us.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:  Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce [...] multiply there, and do not decrease.  But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare (1)

settle.  but when the frustrations come - the cigarette smoke from downstairs coming through the bathroom outlet, the summer bugginess, the inevitable longing for friends and family too many miles away, don't forget, sooner or later, we will be moving on.  to our true home, the home of which every earthly home is a just a premonition.  to a new heaven and a new earth, with the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit (2), a place where righteousness will be at home (3).

There is a hope that stands the test of time,
That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave,
To see the matchless beauty of a day divine
When I behold His face!
When sufferings cease and sorrows die,
And every longing satisfied.
Then joy unspeakable will flood my soul,
For I am truly home.
Stuart Townend & Mark Edwards
Copyright © 2007 Thankyou Music

(1) jeremiah 29:7
(2) isaiah 61:3
(3) 2 peter 3:13