Our family has been living in Indonesia for two years now, and lately I have had to reevaluate what exactly my perspective of “home” is. The truth is, though we have been here for two years, this place doesn’t quite feel like home. Yet. I recently found out that my parents and my best friend’s parents were considering selling their homes; two homes that I essentially grew up in. These were places that held hundreds of precious memories—laughter, tears, slumber and birthday parties, water fights, holidays and backyard camp outs. At the same time two families on our team were moving away and new ones were coming to set up their homes here. The change around us has been like a constant, swirling wind.
A couple of nights ago we watched a video sermon in which the speaker was describing the vastness of space and surrounding galaxies. Shown to viewers was an iconic picture of Earth called the “Pale Blue Dot,” taken 25 years ago by Nasa Voyager 1 from 3.7 billion miles away. Here is an excerpt from the words of Carl Sagan, a member of the Voyager team at the time:
Consider again that dot. That’s here. That’s home. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering … every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer … every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there—on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.”
Fortunately, as believers we have a more hopeful view of planet Earth, knowing that the One who created it also promises life beyond it—eternal life. And I am reminded of this: we are small and our home is temporary. God is preparing a city, a new home, for us. A slight shift in perspective can help us to hold our lives and view of this “home” a little more loosely.
