Mom and great grandson Cooper

Last fall my 96-year old mom told me one day as we were looking at pictures of our house and our town, “I want to go home . . . one more time.” She was referring to our hometown, Plain Dealing, Louisiana.

I moved mom here to Memphis a little over two years ago when it became obvious that she needed to live close to one of her children, and the daughter is the obvious choice! She lives in an assisted living very close to the church where I work, and I am thrilled to see her every day.

She adjusted to the move very quickly and is happy here in Memphis. But last fall, she longed to go home to Louisiana to see her sisters, her church, her home town, and her friends. We made plans to go last Thanksgiving, but it was not meant to be. The week before we were to go, mom got sick and was too weak to make that six-hour drive home. We were both disappointed but knew that God was in control.

Mom’s health has declined a good bit this year, and I assumed going home was not even a possibility anymore. However, a few weeks ago, as we were driving to my house, out of the blue, she said, “I want to go home.” At first, I wasn’t sure if she meant back to her apartment at the assisted living, or to Louisiana. But, she quickly made it clear. “I want to go home to Plain Dealing.”

After praying about it, I felt that God was confirming, “Yes. Take her home.” At 96, mom knows she is nearing the end of her time on this earth and is ready to go to her heavenly home. But before she does, she wants to go “home” one more time, and I want to make that wish come true.

It will give her closure, seeing her precious sisters, the home where she grew up, and the home that she and Daddy built back in the 1940’s, where mom lived until she had to move into an assisted living in Bossier City. It is the only house I ever lived in before college.

Her doctor gave us the “green light,” and so we are going home this Friday for the weekend. She is so excited and all smiles. She can hardly wait to go home, and I can’t wait to see the joy on her face.

Mom knows that neither Plain Dealing nor Memphis is her permanent home, and she is ready to go when God calls her to her heavenly home. But before He does, she wants to go “home” one more time.

“Home” always calls us; we long to be there because we know it’s home. As believers, we can look forward to our eternal home, a home beyond anything we can imagine. I long for that day when we will all be home and will never have to leave again.