Homecoming: (noun) – a return home
“Home” is the navigational pull that directs my compass. No matter where I am in the world, I can point off in the distance and state “My home is that way.”
Why am I so surprised that dogs have this same directional ability? I’ve heard many stories about dogs getting lost MILES from home, and yet find their way back. Each story amazes me, no matter the distance the dog travelled.
I had this experience with one of my foster dogs once. Binky was a 20-poundish white/brown cutie pie, who was relatively timid when he arrived in our home. Living inside a house was obviously a new experience for him, and he was reactive to loud noises or sudden movements. Things were going well with his adjustment to life inside a house, with loving people and another dog to provide him comfort. About three weeks into his stay, as he spent some time in the backyard unsupervised, Binky dug a hole under the fence and escaped! Perhaps 15 minutes had elapsed before I realized he was missing – I was hoping he couldn’t have gone far in that amount of time, but that was just being optimistic – we all know how fast dogs move when they are motivated!!
The entire family went on a search – one on foot with our other dog, two on bikes, one in the car. Even though Binky had been with us three weeks, he was still very nervous around the men in our home – which means all three of the other people besides me. We were concerned that even if we found him, if it was one of the boys, then he wouldn’t even come to them anyway. And honestly, his bond with me wasn’t very established yet either. Things were looking quite bleak as we headed into the dead of night (he escaped about 10pm). After an hour of searching, we all returned home to regroup. The rescue organization put out a missing dog alert and instructed us to leave the garage door open just enough that he could get in and leave a bowl of food and water and a dog bed inside.
All that was left to do was wait…and pray for a homecoming. Really prayer should have been our first action, rather than our last, but nonetheless, we resigned ourselves to the darkness and acknowledged the search would have to wait until morning to resume.
I knew that sleep wouldn’t come easy to me and felt that there was more I could be doing. Ultimately, I decided to leave open the solid wood front door, which left the screen door as the only barrier to the world where Binky was exploring. I laid down on the couch nearest the door and encouraged my dog to stay nearby…
I awoke a few hours later to the sound of my dog whimpering at the front screen door. I jumped up quickly and ran over in hope – and there he was! Binky was trotting casually down the street towards our home! I threw open the door and called out his name. He turned toward my voice and seemed truly eager to have found his home. He ran into the house and into my arms. This should be how it always feels to return home!
All said and done, Binky was wandering around for about six hours. I often ponder… what did he do during that time? What was his motivation for leaving? Did he go very far or was he just across the street the whole time? I’ll never know the answers to these questions. But every time I consider the situation, I remain amazed that this creature could find his way “home”, to a place he had only known a few weeks and was still not sure about.
For several months following this escape, we all joked about seeing “Binky juniors” around the neighborhood – that perhaps he had escaped to create his own sense of family. After the fear and anxiety of the event subsided, the humor rose up. We like to refer to that night as “Binky’s Great Adventure”. Binky was adopted about two weeks later by a nice family who fell in love with him at first sight. We shared the story of his big adventure and then sent him off with a kiss and prayer… be safe, be loved, dear Binky!
The whole experience taught me and my family many lessons, which we immediately applied as the new foster dogs arrived. No way did we want to go through that again! And as I relive that moment Binky returned to me, I am reminded of these words in Zechariah.
Therefore, tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. Zechariah 1:3
God tells us to return to him, and he will return to us. As joyful as I was to embrace Binky after that short separation, how much more so is it with God when we return to him after turning away for a period in our lives.
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. John 14:23
The true experience of home is in the person of Jesus Christ. We are never essentially our true selves until we come home to God.
Jesus reassures his disciples, and us, with these words:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3
Jesus returned to Heaven to make God’s house our home. His presence and our relationship with Him make it Home. Heaven is not only the place to which we are going, but also the place to which we belong.
And how joyous it will be to return to Him when we have our true homecoming in heaven.