Thoughts on Home

"You will ask me, are you satisfied? Have you got all you want? God forbid. With the deepest feeling of my soul I can say that I am satisfied with Jesus now; but there is also the consciousness of how much fuller the revelation can be of the exceeding abundance of His grace. Let us never hesitate to say, THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING." -Andrew Murray






Ireland is only familiar to me through the pictures and stories I experienced growing up (and yes, both qualify as an experience). As a setting, Ireland's only competition to the retelling of family history comes from Long Island, New York (my mom's stomping ground, where the Holy Spirit started to soften her heart and draw her to Jesus), the Daytona Beach Boardwalk (the place where God kidnapped my dad from a death sentence of addiction), and of course Frederick, Maryland, where my parents met and chose to settle down to start a family.

In a few days, my feet will touch Irish soil, and I won't need those pictures anymore as a reference. Even if it is not lush and green in December, I will be THERE--in IRELAND. It feels like a dream come true. It is a dream come true.

Even though I will only be a visitor, Ireland feels like the homeland I've heard about but never seen. It reminds me of this longing I have deep down for a home.

And this longing for a true home has me thinking about eternity. Ah, to have a heart full of the dreams of heaven--the dreams of my real home. That is what I long for, because I know in those dreams there is a satisfaction that can only come from God. True contentment. True purpose. True fulfillment.

The real homeland I seek is not Ireland, although I cannot wait to get there and experience as much of that nation as I can in twelve days. But I seek a homeland that is not on this round planet-

but while I'm here...

May I be found faithful--may my heart be full of heaven--and may my pursuits reflect the dreams in Abba's heart.

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Dear Cork, Galway, Shannon, Dublin, etc., etc., etc, (all of Ireland),

Here I come! I can't wait to officially meet you. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from you. See you soooooon!

Caitlin