Day 5 'Homesick' | Week of Welcome Devotional

Aug 25: HomesickI never really got homesick in undergrad. But I went to college in my home city and my mom picked me up for church on Sundays. I cannot imagine what college life would've been like if I lived further away. What about you? Do you miss home?Homesickness is normal - even for the well-adjusted freshman. And weird things trigger it. Low water pressure in the shower. No Lucky Charms in the cafe. Your new umbrella from Target breaking just as the rain starts. Getting sick in just the first few days of the semester. I don't know how homesickness is triggered in you, but once it happens there's almost nothing that can stop it.For some of us, it's not so much about being homesick; it is about missing the way things used to be. The pace you got used to, the friends you hung out with, the distractions you had & the food you ate; why couldn't we just bring all of those things to college? What do we do when the excitement of a new semester (and school and city) wears off?Some of us don't have to drive too far to get back home. But we can't all go home every weekend. When homesickness & memories of the way things used to be creep up, I think it's helpful to remember that God is with us.God is with us in this moment when you feel alone, distant from the familiar things, and isolated from the people we love. God is with us when weird things trigger homesickness and new things make us miss our old lives.There was a guy named Joshua in the Scriptures. For the times he lived in, he was considered a young man. I don't know if he was homesick or missed his old life, but the direction he was heading was extremely daunting. The words God said to him are worth considering:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."Joshua1:9 ESV

I think this is what God, who is with us, says to us when we are missing the old things but can't go back to them. We are invited to find strength in God's presence when we are homesick. Even now, God is closer to us than our next breath.If you're feeling homesick, I hope you know that CCW is here for you. Reach out to us if there's something we can do for you. And don't forget to pray. Prayer is one of the ways we access God's grace. I offer the follow prayer that you can pray today of you're feeling homesick or missing your old life.Beautiful God, thank you for being with me. Thank you for being close in the moments that I miss home or the way things used to be. I hear your words to be strong. That's hard for me, so I'm gonna need your Holy Spirit to help me with that. Give me courage to be here & now, and help me see all the new things that you are offering me in this season. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.