There's no place like home...(Chp 6)

I've lived in 6 countries, I hold 2 passports, never really assimilated to a culture and I don't know where home is. Its not a nice feeling to not be able to call somewhere home.

Growing up abroad, away from your country of nationality, you always know that in the back of your mind that this will never be home, you'll always be just a resident on a permit or at best a second class citizen looked down upon. And one day you'll have to go home.

A lot of people I know have experienced this feeling, though maybe not to an extreme that I've felt it, but eventually, they find a place to call home. They say home is where the heart is. If that's the case then home is hardly ever where I am. My heart is with my family, with my loved ones, and most importantly, my heart is God's.

What this actually means is, as Chp 6 says, I will never feel completely satisfied on Earth because its not home. Earth is temporary, we all die. However, death isn't the end of the line, it's the start of the journey home. The thing is, what you do on earth determines whether your journey after death will take you home or not.

What really surprised me and is important to understand is that our mission on Earth isn't the pursuit of happiness, its the pursuit of establishing ever ounce of faith we have in our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. Faith is your ticket home when our lives on this Earth are behind us and the journey to eternity begins.

Faith guarantees your ticket home, but it doesn't guarantee success in this world, and that's where the struggle arises. Your faith may be as solid as a rock, yet life may not be rewarding in the least, and you look around you and you see others, (Forgive us for judging God), but you see others weak in their faith or people who don't believe altogether leading rewarding lives, having successful careers and living very happily and comfortably. That's your test, to keep your faith despite all these worldly temptations. Warren writes that millions of faithful people have been martyred, have lost everything, or have come to the end of life with nothing to show for it.

Worldly wealth isn't a sign of ones faith. However, a sure sign of one's faith, despite all the Earthly trials and tribulations one might experience, is the feeling of inner peace and the knowledge that despite everything, God is there and looking out for you and keeping track of every little detail and making a note of it for your heavenly reward. Remembering that this world ends, knowing that it's not home, and that you will go home in the end helps you keep that faith. God bless you and may He plant the seed of faith in you and nurture it until its in full bloom.