Farewell Home

Thought's from Keri...

I think the saddest part of this whole journey, apart from leaving my family, will be leaving my house. As the autumn leaves are currently changing to vibrant shades of my most favorite colors, and the smell of rain permeates the crisp autumn air, I realize just how much I will miss home.

For those of you who don't already know, we sold our dear little house. Escrow is set to close next month. Truly a miracle (and answer to prayer) given the current real estate market. As much as I should be rejoicing for the answered prayer and miraculous provision of the Lord, I find instead that intense feelings of homesickness are plaguing me these days...and I'm not even gone yet.

In light of my feelings of homesickness lately, the Lord saw fit to remind me of a dream I had about a year ago....(yes, another dream!) What can I say, as the prophet Joel states, "Old men shall dream dreams and young men shall see visions..." Well, I'm not exactly old, but you get the point. Anyhow, my dream was this....

I was living in a hotel room, by myself (for whatever reason?). I remember lying on the bed looking around and thinking..."boy, this place is relaxing, it's so quiet and peaceful" But then I started examining my surroundings a little closer and began to notice things that were 'bugging' me. Like that picture over there, it really was quite dated and it's kind of hanging a little to low, and boy, wouldn't the bed look better on the other wall, and you know, maybe if I just got a few things to really spruce this place up it would really feel like home. Maybe a little paint, new bedding, window treatments...then I could relax and really enjoy it here.

So off to go shopping I went. Driving down the freeway, excited to shop and focusing solely on all the numerous possibilities my new little "home" had to offer... I barely noticed the thick fog that began to develop outside. Darker and darker it grew until I could barely see but a little ahead. At this point I began to realize I was in danger...I could no longer see the road in front of me. But yet, I fearfully crept forward, praying I was still on the road. Then suddenly up ahead the clouds began to part and a brilliant ray of light broke through the foggy clouds clearing the way. And in that moment of clarity, I realized that what I was witnessing was not just fog lifting but something MUCH bigger....I knew at that moment it was Jesus returning for his church. As the clouds continued to part and the light grew brighter, I grew scared! I wasn't ready, my heart wasn't ready. I began to cry out in repentance! "FORGIVE ME JESUS, FORGIVE ME FOR MAKING THIS PLACE MY HOME!" I kept repeating those words over and over until I woke up.

The meaning was so clear the moment I opened my eyes. It was a warning. I was on a dangerous road. My focus was off, on the things of this world (on my physical home...at the time of the dream we were doing work on the house). I was more concerned about building this earthly temporal home than building up the kingdom of heaven. Sad, but true. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a nice home as much as the next person. And there is nothing wrong with having one (It's not like I'll be living in a shack in Texas!) But our temporal homes here count for nothing in light of eternity. They're mere motel rooms (a pit stop- if you may). Heaven is our real home. After that dream, I vowed to the Lord to never again let a house consume my time or energy like this one had.

I TRULY believe time is short, and I don't say that lightly. (World events and prophecy are unfolding before our very eyes!) AND when Jesus does return, I do NOT want to be about my own business (shopping of all things)! But rather, it is my sincere prayer that we will all be found about our Father's business.

May God Bless You All