Last night after returning home from a church service, my son, who is the youngest of my 3 children, called me.  Interestingly enough, he had already called me earlier that day to see how I was doing.  Although I had some inclination of what he might be up to, I was not absolutely certain. Well, my wonderful suspicion was confirmed when I heard the doorbell ring while I was still on the phone with him!   He was the one ringing the doorbell.  He came home to surprise me and to visit with some of his high school friends.  Needless to say if you could have seen or heard me, you would have thought I had just  won the grand prize showcase on the Price is Right!  As you can imagine, I was very excited to see him.  You see, this is his first year in college and as I said before, he is the youngest.  And to be truthful, I just saw him about a month ago, but I have really been missing him and his 2 sisters.

Of course, after all the screaming, hugging and more hugging, my motherly instinct of asking questions kicked in!  How did you get home? What time did you leave campus?  Why didn’t you call me to pick you up?  He told me that he rode the Mega bus from Jacksonville to Orlando.  Well how did you get to the bus station all the way from campus?  He said, I started walking and I was going to walk to the bus station if I had to because I really wanted to come home.  Then he said, I realized that would have been a long walk so I stopped at a local metro bus stop and asked a man did he know if the next bus would take me downtown to the civic center. (Okay, so now I’m thinking to myself, didn’t I tell you not to talk to strangers!)  He said the man was very nice and told him exactly what he needed to do to get to the bus station.  (I thank God for this man who gave my son good instructions on how to make his way home.)

As he told me of how he made his way home, I just started thanking God for keeping him safe and for getting him home.  I sent a text to his sisters, saying ” the baby’s home”!  I posted on Facebook that I was feeling fantastic because my son was home!  I asked him, what do you want me to cook for you while you are home?   I guess you can tell by now that I was overjoyed to have him home for the weekend!  I wanted to celebrate my baby being home and whatever he wants his mommy to cook, I will be in the kitchen cooking it for him!

This morning  I  thanked God for waking me up and for keeping my children safe and especially for the protection He had over my son as he traveled home yesterday.  Then I heard this soft whisper saying,  “Jackie, this excitement you have of your son being home, is how I feel when one of My sons or daughters come back home to Me!  No matter what My children have done,  and no matter the road they travel to get home, I am just glad to have them come back!  As they start to journey back to Me, I will meet them with open arms, hug them and kiss them and we will celebrate!”

²⁰ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

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My Dear Heavenly Father, today I am praying for Your children that are making the  journey back to You!  I am praying for Your children who think they are not worthy to come back home.  I am praying for the ones who just left home and will get into situations that will make them feel they can never go home again! I know You will keep them safe no matter where they are on their journey back to You.  Whether they are just leaving home, whether they have just hit rock bottom or have just made the decision to come back home, I know You are ready to run to them and welcome them back with open arms.  I am thanking You for the celebrations that will take place when they return home to You!  It is in the wonderful name of  Jesus, I am sending up this prayer!