Looking back over your life you can find numerous clues to your potential destiny, like your favorite childhood game, gift, fairy tale, book—or song. Accordions were all the rage in our town in the early 1950s. So despite my brief sojourn with the cello (broken) and my inability to warble “Jesus Loves Me” on key, I convinced my Dad to buy me an accordion.
I joined our local accordion band, learned to find the C key, and squeezed out the song, “This World Is Not My Home,”…before I surrendered my musical fantasy and put my accordion back in its red velvet case. Full of potential, it lay buried in the back of my closet for years— behind my unused Samsonite (my favorite gift) longing to see the world.
Music was simply not my gift. But that song, that song, lived on in my soul; its words and melody continue to flood my memory through the years. Today, it has become my song; I have lived it.
This world is not my home, I’m just passing through. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue. The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.⃰
Why that song? Why did it make its home in my soul, when I knew so many others? I don’t know, unless it captured the essence of my divine destiny already implanted in my heart. Since then, I have moved many times, almost too numerous to count, as our sons often lamented. I have lived in many houses, each time making them home.
Yet far more importantly, in the roads I’ve traveled I discovered the spiritual realities referred to in this song. My values have shifted; I have learned that I am only truly at ease when I am in touch with the Spirit of the living God and flowing with his unfolding plan for my life.
Now in our mid-70s, we have just made another move, from our native Michigan to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. When we left New England five years ago, we never expected to be back. We considered ourselves too old and, besides, we liked being near our grandchildren and family. But last November, the Lord began to stir our hearts to expect a change…something we hadn’t thought of before. Then in February, my husband received a vision of the coast of New England and he understood the Lord was calling us to leave our family and return there again.
As we packed our belongings and said good-bye, Jerry drew strength from Abraham who at age 75 left his father’s house in Haran and set out for the land of Canaan. And I found myself singing once again, “This world is not my home. My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue.”
For now we remain tuned to God’s channel, waiting for his next step to unfold, whether it comes through the dream, vision, or prophetic flow. And while we wait, our souls delight in the treasures of Cape Cod—the National Seashore, fishing trawlers, quaint towns, harbor seals, salt marshes, clam chowder, and soft sea breezes caressing our faces.
However, there are two things every person needs to know: Who am I? What is the meaning and purpose of my life? Without knowing the answers to these questions, we will not be able to fulfill God’s plan for our life, let alone feel at home in this world. My husband likes this thought: If you know who you are, you’ll know what to do.
God’s plan is not something outside of us, but it lies within our heart—perhaps from the moment we are born. In my experience, God’s plan contains divine energy that attracts us to our destiny. This is why our favorite song, gift, or story can offer clues to the nature of our divine destiny.
Counsel (advice, plans) in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. (Proverbs 20:5)
Oh yes, my favorite gift, a suitcase, found its purpose when God called me in a dream to be a director of marketing for him in Europe. And my favorite book, “Blue Jeans,” a story of a city boy’s transformation, offered promise to a young girl who was afraid of almost everything. A weakling and a coward, I was transformed through my encounters with a living God, and discovered I could do much more than I thought.
Question: Can you recall your favorite childhood game, gift, fairytale, book or song? Consider how it might relate to your journey thus far in life.
⃰The lyrics and music to “This World Is Not My Home” is by Albert E. Brumley. This song has been performed by Jim Reeves.