October 21, 2012

This isn't home…

Yesterday morning I decided it was time for a little pampering.  So I headed just down the street to one of my favorite nail salons for a manicure/pedicure.  I switch up locations every once in awhile just to try a new place, but honestly, the one just a block down from me is my favorite.  Probably because they tend to be the best at the foot and back massage they throw in with the polish.  You know it’s good when it is hard to stay awake because you are so relaxed.

So there I was completely at peace when the conversation began.  Four or five of the nail girls, mine included, were becoming immersed in an animated conversation.  Their volume becoming louder with their excitement. 

But everything was being said in their native tongue. 

So to me, it was a mere whir of garbled sounds.  Sure I could deduce they were excited.  It was easy to tell by their facial expressions that they were all very happy about whatever it was.  But I had NO idea what was being said.

In that split second, my mind started to wander.  It’s not often that just a block from my home in the middle of America, I don’t feel at home.  When I closed my eyes and just listened to their conversation, I realized how completely out of place I was in that moment.  Nothing about what I was hearing was familiar or even recognizable.

It was just enough of a split second thought to make me think of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven.” 

I felt out of place for just a mere second, because I closed my eyes and only heard unfamiliar conversation. One second bringing to light how much I try to make myself comfortable, at home, at peace and how odd it felt to not feel at home.

And yet I don’t belong here.

We spend our time, our money, our efforts to make ourselves at home and yet this is not home. In that split second, I was reminded how of what I need to think of at all times.

This is not home.

My citizenship is elsewhere.