When I was a child, fishing was a favorite pastime in my family.  We lived near the panhandle coast in Florida, so many memories are anchored in the marshy smells of salt marsh and bay.

Not everyone likes to smell a salt marsh.  Comprised of decaying plant and animal matter and nourished in the rise and fall of tides and sun, the smell is uniquely pungent. 

To me, however, it smells like home and family and smiles.  I love that smell!

I live miles from the shore today.  When the wind is just right, though, I walk outside, and the breeze carries the whiff of marsh grass and saltwater.  Immediately, my mind recalls hot, sunny days at the beach or in the boat, fishing poles, and sand-covered feet.  I breathe deeply and smile, because I am reminded of childhood and family, and I find myself just a little homesick for those days.

I’ve never been to Heaven, but I believe that God has placed a desire in my soul that calls me to Him.  That desire is a longing to be with Him. 

Once in a while, it seems that I catch a whiff of a heavenly breeze that reminds me of this home that awaits me. 

 When I view the grandeur of a mountain view,
 or stand before the expanse of ocean waters,
 or relish the immense beauty of the evening sky,
 or gaze into the knowing eyes of a newborn child,
 or rest in the peace that God provides, 

I know that this life is not all there is; a better home awaits where I will be with my Father.   

And, sometimes, I am just a little bit homesick.

Philippians 3: ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,  (ESV)

I Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”