Morning Devotional 032425 Home At Last

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

  March 24, 2025

Jeremiah 29:10-14

10 The LORD proclaims: When Babylon’s seventy years are up, I will come and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. 12 When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. 13 When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. 14 I will be present for you, declares the LORD, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the LORD.

Good Morning. God promises us a future filled with hope!

13 When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me.

Sometimes, I realize that some items I am sure I own are missing. This usually happens when I want or need to use them. One of my realities is that I have moved more times than I can remember. Some of my moves can be explained by military service and the itinerancy of the Methodist pastor’s family, but beyond those reasons, other moves have been part of our family's ever-evolving landscape. Maybe I have a few nomadic or gypsy genes buried within my soul.

I am the queen of packing boxes. I never see a box without thinking, “I should save that; it will come in handy one day. I have resigned myself to the fact that some things that I’ve packed away in boxes and tubs are unlikely to ever see the light of day again. 

I remember deciding to search for one of my missing items. Finding the item requires diligence and persistence to achieve the desired result. Depending on the need or value of the missing item, sometimes I decide it simply isn’t worth the effort, so I half-heartedly search, and the item remains misplaced. 

A couple of years ago, I retired from teaching. Reviewing my twenty-five years, I realized I was searching for something. Because of our moves, I taught in five different school divisions, but beyond that, I changed positions within each school system. From music teacher to reading coach to gifted teacher, back to reading specialist, to STEM teacher, to gifted teacher, and back to STEM teacher. Of course, these different disciplines required specific educational endorsements and degrees. (Talk about a lifelong learner) It wasn’t that I disliked any of those positions, but something within me was urging me forward, pushing toward an unseen goal. 

I was seeking with all my heart a place that had yet to be revealed to me. My greatest God moment was when God pulled back the curtain and invited me to share the Word as a pastor. I hadn’t seen this coming, but I responded immediately. After a few months as a pastor, I realized that I no longer had this urge to find a new path because I was where God wanted me to be. God brought me home! I’m still working on completing the required educational coursework, and as a United Methodist Pastor, I remain in the itinerancy process, but I know that I am home.

14 I will be present for you, declares the LORD, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the LORD.

Loving Lord, Maker of all things! Thank you for revealing your plans for us when it is time. Help us trust that you are always with us. Thank you. We love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: Trust that God desires only our good.

I am home at last! Pastor Liz