Coming Home – A reflection “From the Edges” on longing, Repentance, and Grace.

Coming Home

A Devotional Reflection on Longing, Repentance, and Grace

Pastor Calvin Cook –

January 15, 2026

Sorry for my absence for the last couple of days. But it has been a couple of days of reflection while trying to recuperate from this mid-winter sinus infection and praying for clarity of mind.

During the last couple days when everything else is happening and trying to keep every ball in the air.  My heart was drawn to care for a  family who had lost their mother, grandmother, sister, friend.

While preparing for the memorial service – the family asked if we could play the song –Mama, I’m Coming Home by Ozzy Osbourne. The song not a worship song, but it carries a deeply spiritual reflection even an ache for that which is important. It’s a song about weariness, regret, love, and the longing to return to the place where one is known and still welcomed.

So this morning I reflect on what it means to come to the place of home. Home is where we come from and for many of us the place to where we need to return. I am not speaking of a physical space but a holy place where the only two who reside there is you and God. It is a place of comfort.

That longing echoes a truth Scripture has spoken of for thousands of years. About a desire to be in the place that God calls us to be, has created for us, and the place where God waits for us to return to.

There comes a moment in every life when the road behind us feels long and the road ahead uncertain. We realize we are tired, not just physically, but spiritually. I’m tired of running. Tired of pretending. Tired of carrying the weight of choices, failures, and baggage I haven’t got rid of yet.

The song “Mama, I’m coming home” sounded very much to me like the cry of the prodigal son.

 “I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”(Luke 15:18, NIV)

The prodigal didn’t have a speech, a list of excuses, or even an assurance that he would be received back into his father’s love and care. He only knew he couldn’t stay where he was anymore. So, he turned toward home.

In Scripture, home is not just a place, it is God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

God is the One who waits.

God is the One who watches the road.

God is the One who runs to meet us when we finally turn around.

“Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:7, NIV)

Coming home doesn’t mean we have it all together. It means we finally admit we don’t. It means laying down pride, excuses, and fear, and trusting that grace is greater than our distance.

The beauty of God’s love is this: We are never walking back toward judgment; we are walking back toward mercy.

 “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18, NIV)

Maybe today your heart is saying these same words: “I’m tired. I’m ready. I’m coming home.”

And the good news of the gospel is this— God has been ready and waiting all along.

Prayer — God of mercy and grace, I am tired of running and pretending. I turn my heart toward You again. Thank You that home is not a place I earn, but a love You freely give. Meet me on the road back. Restore what has been broken. And teach me to rest again in Your presence. Amen.