This World Is Not My Home

Last week I was commenting on how sad the news was, how many "bad" stories there were and how I didn't know how to go about raising my two little girls in this evil, wicked, perverse world in which we live. I had told Lawrence, "Jesus can just come back right now. Or at least before Coralyn and Kellah have to deal with any of that junk." I was ready to get off earth, to be rid of this sin-invested place, and start eternity in heaven, where there are no news stories of kidnappers, murders, rapists, or whatnot. Just Jesus...and all the wonderfulness that comes with being in His presence.

A friend posted the lyrics for "This World Is Not My Home" on her facebook page, and I felt like that was a perfect song to express how I was feeling at the time. It was a good reminder that we won't be on earth forever, and that one day we will be at home in heaven with our Jesus. Until then, we make the most of each day here on earth and look forward in eager anticipation to the day we will meet Jesus face to face.

This morning that same song came to mind again, but for a completely different reason. The phone rang, and I rushed to answer it, thinking it might be my friend calling to say she's in labor and I need to come over to her house for the birth. But it was "just" my mom. And she definitely didn't have good news. She called to tell me that a friend of mine from high school had lost her little baby boy. He simply didn't wake up this morning. He was only 4 months old! I gasped in shock and sadness. What can you say? There are no words...

I did all that I could do - I cried. I gave Coralyn and Kellah big hugs and kisses. I thanked God for my two precious little girls, asking Him to help me treasure every precious moment I have with them, as I obviously don't know how long I get to have them with me here on this earth. Just days earlier I was ready to be done, to get out of town, and magically arrive in heaven where everything is perfect. Now, I am praying for as many days as possible with my little girls, to watch them grow up and get old even. I am thinking about all the memories I want to make with them, all the kairos moments I want to accumulate and be able to look back on with joy and fondness when I am old and gray.

And I can't help but cry for my friend who doesn't have that option anymore. She had 4 months with her little boy. 4 short months. Not long enough by any mother's standards. The only positive is that "this world is not our home" and one day she will be reunited with her baby boy. She will get to spend eternity with him, and Jesus. As a mother I don't know how she will make it until then. Talk about being ready to leave this earth and walk the streets of heaven!

I am at a loss for words. And so I will keep doing all that I can -- crying for my friend and praying for her as she somehow tries to deal with her pain and grief. I can't imagine...

Please pray for her, and her husband, too. I am sure Judy and Ernesto need all the pray they can get as they grapple with their loss and wait for the day that they will be reunited with baby Judah in their eternal home.