I think it is good to get away to go on vacations with people you love. I certainly enjoyed my time in Costa Rica with my mom. But now I’m ready to be home, and that’s a good thing too.
Wanting to be home is not a failure of the vacation, it is a remembrance that home is our happy place. If we are lucky, home is our favorite place to be.
I realize some people have a lot of stress and worry at home. For them, returning to the daily grind may be challenging. But for those of us who truly love our work and love our life, home is the best place on earth. I miss my husband, my routine, and my own bed. I miss the view of my back pasture and having my dogs greet me at the door. I miss trusting water from the tap. I miss flushing my own toilet paper. I miss returning to my regular schedule, rather than the artificial one created by a bus tour.
If you are one of those people that is usually sad about going home from vacations, I encourage you to use Philippians 4:8 to change your thinking and perspective. What is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, admirable, or praiseworthy about your normal, daily life? Fight for those positive thoughts. Where negative thoughts exist, proactively work to either remove them from your lives or ask God to change your perspective on that suffering. To quote Dan Stone and David Gregory in their book, The Rest of the Gospel, temptation is a faith opportunity, and misery is a gift. Both of these things can draw us closer to God as our source if we keep them in the proper perspective.
Home is where I’m headed today, Lord willing. And, for me, home is the best place of all.