I have loved spending a year of my life totally devoted to Christ's work all over the world. God has blessed us so much with daily experiences that will remain with us for the rest of our lives. We continue to be excited about what the next four months will hold. Ultimately, I am so glad that we chose to listen to God when he called us to the nations. We are forever changed for the better because of this decision.
However, being away from home has been extremely hard. I find that there are many things I miss from home. I have made a list below of some of these things. Many of them are obvious and others seem silly, but they have all been missed.
A point I want to make is that I have found the things I miss are some of the things I neglected when I was home. I spent my whole life at work, but I have not found myself missing my desk. I spent what little time I had left trying to do everything I could at church. However, I don't miss feeling like I had to work hard at church to please God. The things I miss the most are the things that were always there, but I forgot how important they were. So, the following is a list of things that I have missed very badly since leaving home.
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Going to Friday night football games with my dad.
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Driving my truck with the windows down on those first few cool days of fall and first few warm days of spring.
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My mom talking to me while she cooks supper.
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Going to the lake with Hannah and her family to spend a day relaxing in the sun.
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Taco Bell
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Going on hunting trips with my brother-in-law, Lawton, and sitting by the fire at night talking about the day.
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My sister Misty walking in the door to my parents house with four kids in tow and something delicious to eat.
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Sanford Stadium on a cool fall Saturday.
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Sitting in the backyard of my parent's house with my sister Beth while her kids play on the playground.
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Meeting with our Young Adults group to have service and fellowship on Thursday nights.
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Calling my Dad all the time with random questions about how to fix something (only to have him come help me).
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Working in the yard in the spring when everything is starting to green up.
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Sunday lunch after church with Hannah's family.
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My mom cooking breakfast on special occasions with biscuits and country ham.
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Cook outs at my parent's house.
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The insanity of my parent's house when my sisters, their husbands, and all 7 (soon to be 8) of their kids are running everywhere.
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Throwing the ball for my dog Dixie.
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Sitting on the couch watching a good movie with Hannah (and not having 5 other people on the couch with us)
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Building a fire and cooking chili on a really cold night.
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Watching football games on TV with my brother-in-laws (Lawton and Corbin) and my dad after Thanksgiving dinner.
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Visiting my Aunt and Uncles' house in Tampa.
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Christmas Eve with my family.
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Seeing the people I love on a weekly basis.
This is just a small portion of the things I miss about home. However, as I began to write, I realized that virtually all of the things I miss about home involve my family and those I love. I don't miss my television shows. I don't miss my toys. I don't miss my cell phone. I don't miss fancy dinners. I don't miss expensive things. In fact, I love a simpler lifestyle more than I could have ever imagined. When I get home, I am going to work hard to spend my time on the things that actually matter. I am going to work to keep perspective on what is important. As you read this, I ask that you do the same. All the things the world tells us are important are nothing more than dust and vapor. The only thing of substance is those we love and those that love us.
We can't wait to get home to see all of you and start catching up on all the things we miss.
