Going Home

Home is that one place where you can be who you really are. 

I believe Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz had it right when she tapped her ruby red slippers together and said emphatically, “There is no place like home.”

This past month has been a doozy for me.   As an exterminator in the summer heat and my neighbor leaving us and going home to Heaven, it’s been a challenging month.

For example, the other day in the high humidity, I was supposed to be using a leaf blower type device to spread insecticide granules into a high grass area.  However, unbeknownst to me, when I cranked it up the chute was open and I was spraying granules all over the parking lot, like a popcorn popper from my childhood.  Insecticide was everywhere, the size of corn kernels.  And there I was like a lunatic, running as fast as I could to get into the grass so I wouldn’t hit any cars.

Dripping wet with sweat, I tried to sweep up the kernels with a broom I had just bought from the grocery store.   About a half an hour later I was so happy to get into my truck and into the cool air conditioning.   The only thing better was when I got to the final mile of the work day and my Garmin told me Home was in 0.9 miles. There is nothing sweeter than going home.

With that said, my neighbor and landlady, Kass, has been talking about sliding into home or going to Heaven, since winter when her heart began to fail her.  She felt like God was not ready to wave her around third base so she could head home where she so badly wanted to reside. She so wanted to round third, and on July 13^th God gave her the green light and she slid safely into Heaven.

This was great for Kass, but so many of us miss her unique take on life and relationship with God.  However, the song we sang last at her funeral, with her smiling face below in black and white, gave me great comfort.

When I’ve gone the last mile of the way,
I will rest at the close of the day;
And I know there are joys that await me,
When I’ve gone the last mile of the way.

As Kass can surely now attest, some things are worth the wait.

There is nothing like going home at the end of the day. Nothing.

Swavel