Homesickness

Say the word "homesick" and I immediately get:

• A lump in my throat
• A pain in my chest
• A heavy stomach

As a child, I battled homesickness big time. It ruined many a sleepover or pajama party, two common activities of childhood entertainment.

I loved sleepovers--at first. I looked forward to them and would give myself a pep talk, saying, "I can do this! It will be fun." Then, around midnight or so, the tears would come, along with the lump in my throat, pain in my chest, and upset stomach.

My patient parents. Many a night they drove across town to pick up a crying Susie who, once again, could not stay through the night. And, I would wave goodbye to a tearful girlfriend whose sleepover was ruined.

Homesickness is a feeling you don't easily forget. I dealt with it as a child, then as a student going away to college (really rough), and as a new bride living in another state. I still remember pulling out of my parents' driveway for the last time after our wedding.

It's amazing that eventually I re-located 2000 miles from my home in Ohio to distant Arizona. I've come a long way with this homesickness struggle, but whenever anyone mentions the feeling, I immediately empathize.

I read something the other day that put a positive spin on this term. It came from that fantastic devotional writer Sarah Young in her book Jesus Calling (2004):

[Jesus speaking] "I made you in My image, and I hid heaven in your heart. Your yearning for Me is a form of homesickness: longing for your true home in heaven."

Homesickness is a longing that can be quelled only by being home, with those you love. When I equate the angst of my childhood homesickness with a longing for Heaven, to be in the presence of God, I smile. It puts a whole new light on it.