It’s our nomadic season!
Once a year we run from the summer heat and leave the small island of Cyprus for the slightly bigger one of the UK, where we live out of (several) suitcases for five fun, but long, weeks.
Sleeping in a tent or on the guest beds of our fantastic welcoming friends and family is wonderful, but I can’t help missing the feeling of being ‘home. Of course, the point of being here in the UK is not to feel ‘at home’, but to have fun, invest in friendships and do things that can’t be done when we’re in Cyprus. But, although I’m having a great time, it’s actually quite difficult for a homebird like me to be on the move for that long.
I’ve been reflecting on that strange tension between the longing to be home and not feeling ready to leave yet. Just a couple of weeks ago I was really wishing that I could pop home for a few days, run the washing machine ten times, sleep in my own bed and then pop back to spend more time with the friends I love (and the massive to-do list!)
It’s made me think again about Paul describing our bodies as ‘tents’ (in 2 Cor 5). He seemed to think of his earthly body as ‘temporary accommodation’, to be replaced by a permanent building in heaven. I’m fairly sure that most of the people Paul sold his tents to weren’t weekend leisure-campers either. Tents were for people who for a long time or a short time were living on-the-move.
Heaven is where our home is – life on earth is just camping
It’s made me wonder whether my life is, in reality, quite a lot like my family’s summer trip back to the UK. It’s an interesting thought. …Maybe the point of my life is not really to be comfortable, or settled or easy; but to do (and enjoy) those things that won’t be possible in heaven… Chasing after the lost, loving the outcasts, defending the oppressed, caring for those in need.
Perhaps we are all ‘temporary nomads’ in the world for a while before we head back to our Home in heaven. The long-term-travelling-camping thing is fun, but not easy. It can be uncomfortable and difficult and inconvenient and we may never feel quite settled.
This time next week, we’ll be on our flight back to Cyprus. There will be tearful goodbyes, and regrets about the stuff we didn’t get done… but it will be OK… we’ll be going home.