May 28
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Luke 15:20
There is an indescribable feeling I always get when returning home after being away for a bit, especially during those occasions when my husband has not been with me. It’s an excited sense of who and what is waiting there for me. As each mile passes and the distance toward home gets shorter, it builds and I feel like I can’t get home fast enough! The thrill of driving down our street and arriving at our little house never gets old. In fact, the older I get the more profound that feeling is! So many countless years of routinely returning from work didn’t do it. Fatigue, wheels that continued to turn and waiting responsibilities filled my thoughts instead, and the days would blend, one into another until there was a break in that routine, providing an opportunity to appreciate being “on my home” again.
One of our daughters and her family live a good distance away, and when they are planning to be here with us, it becomes party-like. Her siblings and their families cannot get here fast enough! Everyone in the family gathers in excitement waiting for them to arrive. The little guys act like they haven’t seen their cousins in years! And amidst all the hugs and kisses, it becomes a joyous, busy, noisy occasion, as our home is filled with the gift of all of us reunited and the happiness of just being together.
We all know the spiritual implications of today’s passage from Luke, about God’s forgiveness of our mistakes and His willingness to always give to us all that He has. But what is particularly touching to me is the physical aspect of this verse. The very human reaction of one to another out of love; of the especially typical, instinctive human response of reaching toward those we love, embracing and showing them that love as quickly as we can, when they have returned to us or we to them. The very thought of it can bring tears to my eyes when I think about our final return home – our return home to God! As He rushes to embrace us and our loved ones wait their turn, we’ll wonder how we could have ever, even in all the busyness of our lives, forgotten the feel of that embrace.
Time after time, Lord, as we return home to the hugs of our loved ones, you give us opportunities to rehearse the joy of returning home to your embrace.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. Luke 15:20
There is an indescribable feeling I always get when returning home after being away for a bit, especially during those occasions when my husband has not been with me. It’s an excited sense of who and what is waiting there for me. As each mile passes and the distance toward home gets shorter, it builds and I feel like I can’t get home fast enough! The thrill of driving down our street and arriving at our little house never gets old. In fact, the older I get the more profound that feeling is! So many countless years of routinely returning from work didn’t do it. Fatigue, wheels that continued to turn and waiting responsibilities filled my thoughts instead, and the days would blend, one into another until there was a break in that routine, providing an opportunity to appreciate being “on my home” again.
One of our daughters and her family live a good distance away, and when they are planning to be here with us, it becomes party-like. Her siblings and their families cannot get here fast enough! Everyone in the family gathers in excitement waiting for them to arrive. The little guys act like they haven’t seen their cousins in years! And amidst all the hugs and kisses, it becomes a joyous, busy, noisy occasion, as our home is filled with the gift of all of us reunited and the happiness of just being together.
We all know the spiritual implications of today’s passage from Luke, about God’s forgiveness of our mistakes and His willingness to always give to us all that He has. But what is particularly touching to me is the physical aspect of this verse. The very human reaction of one to another out of love; of the especially typical, instinctive human response of reaching toward those we love, embracing and showing them that love as quickly as we can, when they have returned to us or we to them. The very thought of it can bring tears to my eyes when I think about our final return home – our return home to God! As He rushes to embrace us and our loved ones wait their turn, we’ll wonder how we could have ever, even in all the busyness of our lives, forgotten the feel of that embrace.
Time after time, Lord, as we return home to the hugs of our loved ones, you give us opportunities to rehearse the joy of returning home to your embrace.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson