The summer vacation season is winding down, but I hope that everyone has had a chance to get away somewhere this year because I believe that nothing helps us appreciate home like getting away. This summer I was so fortunate to see beautiful sights in far off places, but I never saw a sunset or even a sunrise to rival the ones I have seen since returning home. We can travel the world, but there is nothing better than sleeping in your own bed. We can meet great folks while traveling, but our friends and family here at home are what grounds us and brings a quality to life that places can never sustain.

I saw beautiful cathedrals that were built long before there were structures here in Okeechobee and churches where my family had been baptized since before the Reformation, but none of them were home. We felt like we had come home when we returned to worship at First Methodist. This is not the first church that I have served as pastor or that has felt like home, but this is home for now. Someday I will transfer to my heavenly home, but there is a special place in my heart for this church and community. I wish that everyone had a home church and that it was near enough to attend weekly for you. As a pastor, I attend fairly regularly although this year I have missed more Sunday’s than any other year. I am so thankful that I was able to watch virtually even while I was away. It is not the same as being there in person, but it is better by far than missing. It was a great way to still hear the message and see the people who were here.

Sometimes budgets are tight and our vacations may need to be virtual. There are travel shows and videos aplenty, but I always recommend in person when possible. My father traveled for sales for many years, but at 11 p.m. (when the phone rates dropped) he would call home. It isn’t the same as being there, but it helps bridge the gap. Thankfully, we can video chat these days and that gets us even closer but there is unlikely, to be anything that can match being there. Someday, it is my hope to be in God’s presence in a physical way but until then, prayer and scripture reading are something that all of us can do to be in God’s presence. Please take some time today to pray and read God’s word, the Bible. Listen and He will speak to you, call on Him and God will be there for you.