Coming Home

This month I'm participating in the Blog Chain over at ChristianWriters.com There's a great group of Christian authors participating in the blog chain and you can read their posts in the little widget to the left there with the cute blue quill pen.

This month the topic is 'Coming Home'. And who can think about that topic without fond memories of family get-togethers, with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner on a groaning table, staying up until all hours eating, talking and laughing, that cottony-soft feeling of warmth and acceptance, of love and familiarity?

Soldiers no doubt have that feeling when coming home from war or a long deployment away. Just to have that chance to hug and feel a sense of peace and belonging.

It's a great feeling, and I have many homes here on earth that I can come home to. My brothers' houses, my sister's house, my church, or my in-laws have become homes away from home, but nothing compared to the home I have with my wife and kids. The chance to relax and laugh with my family, or lounge and play a game or watch a movie.

Family does tend to make a place a home. It's not so much the physical dwelling, the structure, the yard, that makes a place 'home'. It's the people. I think I understand that concept much better since our house caught fire and we had to live elsewhere for months. Though those days are behind us, even the small apartment we shared while our house was getting 'fixed up' became home, because there were people there that loved me unconditionally, that accepted me, even knowing all my faults.

Still, even my own home here on earth has no comparison to the real home I have in Heaven, waiting for me at the end of time. And whether it's a mansion or apartment, a tent or an RV, doesn't much matter because of who I'll be with. You see, this world is not my real home, and for any Christian this is true. Our home is in heaven. And what a family reunion we're going to have when at last we come home from this 'battlefield.'

I'll leave you all with a song I wrote for just such a homecoming. The lyrics I'll post below, and if you click on THIS LINK it will launch a player where you can hear the song. It's called

Forever and a Day

Verse 1:
It was such a little thing to you
You've forgotten that it happened
But I never will forget it
Forever and a day!
You spoke a kind word to me
And gave me food to eat
And I wrote it down upon My heart
Forever and a day!

Chorus:
And Now, now that you've come home
I wrote it down for all the world to see
That even though you acted out of Love,
You didn't know the homeless man was Me!
And here, here before My throne
I'll tell the world the truth for all to hear!
That though I was right before your eyes
In a brilliant disguise
You gave selflessly
Forever and a Day!

Verse2:
No one would come near Me.
They had Me locked away.
And yet, you came to see Me
Although you were afraid.
I wondered if you really cared,
But I know I saw you pray.
And I'll cherish that within My heart
Forever and a Day.

Chorus:
And Now, now that you've come home
I wrote it down for all the world to see
That even though you acted out of Love,
You didn't know the prisoner was Me!
And here, here before My throne
I'll tell the world the truth for all to hear!
That though I was right before your eyes
In a brilliant disguise
You gave selflessly
Forever and a Day!

Verse3:
No one could have seen you
When you knocked upon My door.
You left a box of clothes for Me
When you ran away.
You didn't want the credit
But I saw you anyway!
And I never will forget it
Forever and a Day!

Chorus:
And Now, now that you've come home
I wrote it down for all the world to see
That even though you acted out of Love,
You didn't know the needy man was Me!
And here, here before My throne
I'll tell the world the truth for all to hear!
That though I was right before your eyes
In a brilliant disguise
You gave selflessly
Forever and a Day!