A Place of Longing

M Town has gone on strike today. And I mean the ENTIRE town has shut down. All the shops are closed. The roads are barricaded with trucks, people, wood- basically anything that would be an inconvenience. On the way back from language class, I happened to find a brave rickshaw driver to maneuver through the back roads for me. He got me as close as he could to my apartment and then I had to walk the rest of the way. I gratefully gave him more money than usual for his valiant efforts. As I was making my way through the maze of barricades, my mind wandered to places far away from here. A sense of longing welled up in my heart.

I walked in silence down the dusty road as I watched people go about their day. I watched women in colorful saris carrying sacks of grain on their heads. A vegetable seller wheeled his shaky cart in my direction. Some brown spotted goats trotted out to an open field close by

I have a feeling that after I am done with roaming the earth, my heart will wander back to this same dusty road. Even though I will be back home, I will still have that same sense of longing. It will always be there until I reach the other side of heaven. Faith will become sight. Hope will be realized. It doesn't matter where in the world I go, He will always be my Home. He is where the longing stops.