Have you ever felt homesick? Maybe it was for the house where you grew up, your grandparents’ home, or a place filled with memories from another season of life. But have you ever been homesick for somewhere you’ve never actually lived? It sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it? Many of us can trace our family heritage to places like Ireland, Scotland, England, or somewhere else across Europe. I’ve always loved those parts of the world. Long before I knew anything about my birth family or my ancestry, I felt drawn to Celtic culture: the music, the homes, the cities, the accents, and yes, even the food. Later, after learning more about my family history and having my DNA traced, it turned out that I’m 97% Scottish, Irish, and British, with a little Swedish mixed in. Suddenly, that sense of familiarity made more sense.
Over the years I’ve now traveled “across the pond” five times, and every time my feet hit the ground in Europe, it feels like home. Just a few weeks ago I returned from a wonderful stay in the Highlands of Scotland, where I happily ate haggis and enjoyed every moment. Walking the streets, hearing the conversations, seeing the hills and old stone buildings, it all carried a strange but undeniable sense of belonging, even though I’d never lived there and didn’t know a soul.
There is something powerful about knowing where you come from. Visiting the land of our ancestors can connect us to stories larger than ourselves. It can awaken gratitude for those who came before us and give us a deeper appreciation for the threads that have been woven together to make us who we are. Yet when we turn to the story of Abram in Genesis 12, we find something quite different. Abram’s journey is not toward his roots but away from them. God calls him to leave behind his country, his people, and his father’s house. His future will no longer be defined primarily by where he came from but by where God is leading him.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.
— Genesis 12:1-91
Perhaps that is one of the great lessons of faith. Visiting the land of our ancestors can remind us where our story began, but following God reminds us that our story is not ultimately defined by where we began. It is defined by where He is leading us. Scotland can certainly feel like home to me, yet even that experience pointed toward a deeper truth. As Christians, we are always pilgrims. We may cherish our heritage, our family stories, and the places where we feel we belong, but our deepest home is found not in a nation, a bloodline, or a landscape. It is found in the presence and promises of God.
I am also struck by the way Genesis describes Abram’s journey. He “journeyed on by stages.” Most of us would prefer dramatic arrivals and clear destinations, but God often works through a series of faithful steps. This latest trip to Scotland may have felt like a destination, but it was also part of a larger journey of understanding who I am and how God has shaped my story. Abram’s life unfolded in much the same way, not through one grand moment, but through a lifetime of trusting God one stage at a time. Standing in the land of my ancestors reminded me where my family came from. Reading about Abram reminded me where my faith is taking me. One journey looked backward with gratitude; the other looked forward with trust. Both pointed me to the God who guides His people through every stage of the journey until they finally arrive home.
So today, give thanks for the people, places, and stories that have shaped you. Heritage is a gift from God. But remember that your ultimate identity is found not in your ancestry but in God’s promise. The places that feel like home can awaken gratitude for the past, but they can also remind us that we are still traveling toward the greater home God has prepared for His people.
Remember who you are, where you’ve come from, and all the beauty your physical history gives to you. Then hold those things with open hands, ready for God to lead you to all sorts of unexpected destinations as He fulfills His purposes in your life. May you have the faith of Abram, to trust the Lord’s leading, to walk faithfully through each stage of the journey, and to discover that your truest home is found wherever God is present.
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—Book of Common Prayer2
Luke Gambill 