Some of you might remember a hit novelty song by Allen Sherman called “Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda” (of course if you do you can probably make a good guess about just how old I am!) The song was about a boy writing a letter home from camp. Things were not going his way so he was homesick and wanted to go home, after only one day! Although this was a humorous song, it has a ring of truth to it. I believe we can all relate to longing to go home when we have been away for a long time.
Watching the news the other night I ended up teary-eyed as I watched a little girl reunited with her father, who had just ended a tour in Afghanistan. Her school principle had arranged a mock spelling-bee and when she struggled to spell the word given her the principle told her she could get help from someone behind her. At that moment her dad came out from behind the curtain and they both hugged each other and cried. Can you imagine how much this soldier really longed to be home while he was away?
I was listening to another song about longing to go home today. This one is by Rich Mullens called “If I Stand”. As I listened and sang along with the chorus my heart was so moved that I looked up toward the sky in longing, longing to be with the One Who loves me most:
And if I stand, let me stand on the promise,
That You will pull me through,
And if I can’t, let me fall on the grace,
That first brought me to You.
And if I sing, let me sing for the joy,
That has born in me these songs,
And if weep, let it be as a man,
Who is longing for his home.
I find my heart longing to go home a lot these days. Even in my own apartment I long to go home. My home is not here; not on this earth. My home is with my Heavenly Father. I am here only temporarily. I so long to go home!
Do you long to go home? I pray that you do. I pray that your heart and spirit are so moved that you think about it again and again, day after day, until that day when we see Him coming in the clouds. (Matthew. 24:30; Mark 13:26; 1 Thessalonians 4:17)
In a little while,
We’ll be with the Father;
Can’t you see Him smile?
In a little while,
We’ll be home forever,
In a while…
We’re just here to learn to love Him;
We’ll be home in just a little while.
(In A Little While – Amy Grant © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group)
