Homeland

One author speaks of an "existential loneliness" that permeates every human spirit, a kind of unnamed pain inside, deep within us, a restlessness, an anxiety, a sense of "all aloneness" that calls out to us. I prefer to name it an "existential ache." It is a persistent longing in us and it happens because we are human. It is as strongly present in us as autumn is present in the cycle of the seasons. I believe that this ache is within us because we are composed of both physical and spiritual dimensions. Our body belongs to the earth but our spirit does not. Our final home is not here, although "here" is where we are meant to be transformed by treasuring, reverencing and growing through our human journey. No matter how good the "good earth" is, there is always a part of us that is yearning, longing, quietly crying out for the true homeland where life is no longer difficult or unfair.

From Praying Our Goodbyes by Joyce Rupp