In the “Sound of Music”, when the Von Trapp family sang that song (with Auf Wiedersehen instead of Adios) as their final number at the German festival, they escaped to freedom in Switzerland. This morning, I, too, am singing that song, but it's not because I'm escaping a negative situation to find freedom. It's because I am saying “So long, farewell, adios, goodbye to Red River, NM.” Also, saying “see ya’ later” because I’ve vowed to come back here where it has been a sweet haven of refreshing from the Texas heat, as well as reconnecting with my cousins after many years -- finding joys in simple walks, talks, excursions, eating, and simply celebrating God’s blessings of life.
I’m so ever grateful to Larry and Staci for giving me this trip that will last a lifetime in my thoughts and memories. I’m posting here some of my favorite memories to take with me! I love this “until next time” sign that we’ll see as we depart for home. And, oh yes, I’m hoping there will be a next time.
Now, here’s the thing. While this was a great week of outdoor fun and family reconnections -- going home is up ahead (just in time for the cooler temperatures there) and I’m as excited to get home to my sweet spot in Frisco as I was to get here. C.S. Lewis once said, “One who has journeyed in a strange land cannot return unchanged.” And, he was right. I do feel changed – refreshed, rejuvenated, filled with the awe and wonder of this last week’s encounters – beautiful people, captivating stories, and encountering Christ everywhere I roamed.
The world tells us to cling to what we find here, to try to find life in the “temporary”. But to quote C.S. Lewis again, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” His quote is, of course, speaking of heaven – and yes, we were made with eternity in our hearts.
In our personal lives, we have all transitioned from one place to another, but I have found that the safest, most blessed place to be on this earth is the constancy of our relationship with God and the solid place that He provides for us on a daily basis. When I’m tempted to whine a little bit because I’m an orphan and a widow going home to my “alone” place again, I always come back to the truth that I am God’s beloved adopted child, and my forever home is with Him. He is my rock no matter where I am or who I’m with.
When my heart might yearn to be back in Red River – a truly sweet spot on this earth, or in Austin with my family there (especially like yesterday which was my son’s birthday) or in Tulsa with my dear friends and family there – I always remind myself to seek my heart’s true home in God. We are called to be strangers and aliens here (1 Peter 2:11), but always loving and blessing the places and people God gives us, because we know we are just passing through. Our aching for home is really our aching to be home with our Savior. That, my friends will be our reality and will forever be our “home sweet home”.
