Feeling at Home

The courtesy loaner car

 My Jeep has been at the repair shop for the last few days. It was running really rough. So far, the mechanic can't find anything wrong, so it will possibly be chalked up to the extreme cold weather, and maybe some bad gas. So, while my Jeep has been in the shop for the last three days (it was on a waiting list to be looked at), the shop loaded me this sporty little Hyundai car. It's a fairly new car, as it only has 10,000 miles on it (I can put that much on in a few months!) and has quite a few bells and whistles that I've never had before in a car. Of course, being a new car, there's no key for the ignition, just a button to push that relays off the fob you must have with you. It has a fancy backup camera and lots of other features I have yet to figure out.

    It always makes me a little nervous driving a vehicle I'm not used to. I don't automatically know where the buttons or levers are that control things. Of course, all cars are standard, thank God, in the turn signals, gas, and brake pedal, but other than that, you have to relearn with each vehicle where things are. The car, of course, gets me down the road just the same as my Jeep, although my visual sight range is quite a bit lower to the ground than my Jeep, and I'm pretty sure the gas mileage is way better in this little car. As I was driving it yesterday, running a few errands, I got to thinking about the correlations to life. Sometimes, we even temporarily have to switch our mode of travel through life. Even though our regular way is getting us down the road of life, sometimes, that needs to be brought in for repairs and maintenance. But that doesn't mean our journey has to stop or end. Another mode of transportation is offered. Sometimes, it feels a little uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but it still gets you down the road. It can look different in shape and color and even in horsepower under the hood. Whether it's just temporary or you make a more permanent change, there's always a period of adjustment. Sometimes, that can happen in just a few minutes of looking over the controls; that can be a much larger and lengthier learning curve in other vehicles. The more you drive the new vehicle the more you get comfortable with it. Eventually, it feels like it's yours and drive without consciously thinking about where everything is located. You feel at home. 

Feeling at home is a great feeling. I haven't had that feeling for some time. I've moved around 25 times and currently don't have a home to dwell in, except my one on wheels. Even at that, I currently am not in my motorhome, as the weather in Montana got a little too cold to stay in it. We all long for that 'feeling at home' state. Where we aren't constantly adjusting and changing how we live. But the reality is, nowhere on earth is my permanent home, but God does promise to His children that He has a home and place for us in heaven.  John 14:2: "My Father's house has many dwelling places. If it were otherwise, I would tell you plainly because I go to prepare a place for you."  But God has also promised us a place here on earth. "My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places..." Isaiah 32:18  that sounds like a place called home.

The best place to feel at home is "in Christ." That's where we're hidden in the secret place of the most High.  Psalms 91:1: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." 

    I know I always have a home in Christ, but my current physical abode is still an adjustment. It takes time to adjust, even if it's just temporary. The controls are in a different location. I find it necessary to just stay calm and keep driving. My repairs are being made on my vehicle and I will soon be back in it driving to the next destination, and maybe even someday I'll have that 'I'm at home' feeling again.