Lake Travis United Methodist Church

We had some good family friends staying with us for a few days. The children are best friends and grew up together. So when they get to see each other, they do everything together – play, coordinate showers, brush teeth, read books, sleep in the bunk beds! They’re never apart. 

But on the second night, our daughter came into our room, with a few tears, asking to sleep with us. There were a number of factors, but underlying them all was that she was missing some time with us. We said of course, and she cuddled in. As she laid down she took a deep breath and said – “This is home.”

Those three words really hit me. She’s been at her house this entire time, but as she laid there with us, she was with the two people where she knows she can always find comfort and love. And she could relax and breathe. 

Psalm 90:1 “Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!”

I believe that’s what God hopes and wants for each of us – that when we are with Him, our Father, Papa God, that we feel at home, surrounded by the comfort and love that we so desperately need and search for. 

But how does one come to feel that way with God? You would have to spend a lot of time with God. You would have to get to know Him, talk with Him, listen to Him, ask Him for help, and be willing to receive His love. And just like a child, we have to be willing to receive the love of hugs and kisses but also the love of helping us learn from our mistakes and bettering ourselves – the tough love. As a child, you receive that tough love from your parents on a daily basis, but hopefully you receive the comforting love of hugs and kisses and time as well. And when a child receives both those things, they know where home is. Likewise, we have to be willing to receive both those kinds of love from God so that we know where home is.

Jeremiah 2:32 “Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.”

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

James 4:8 “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Romans 8:6 “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.”

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

Psalm 62:8 “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

And what’s beautiful about it all, is that as the parent, as my daughter wraps her sweet little hands around my neck to hold me as close as she can, it fills my entire being with a love that surpasses all understanding (Ephesians 3:19). And I can tell when I give my own parents that special long, tight hug, that they take a deep breath and hold on tighter too. So, not only does the child know “this is home,” but the parent receives the blessing of love as well. I can’t help but think that God’s heart swells in a similar way, when we draw close to Him and call Him home.

I challenge you this week to be willing to receive the love of comfort and the tough love from God, so that you can come to learn where home truly is.

May God bless your time with Him this week. May you look upon the face of Jesus and see Him in all His glory. May the Holy Spirit move in you in ways you’ve never felt before. Amen…So be it 😊

@Lake Travis United Methodist Church 2022