Wasps, Winter, and the Weight of Home

A Familiar Restlessness

Sixteen years ago, I sat in a coffee shop watching a wasp beat itself against a window, desperate to escape. It became, for me, a picture of discontent. Of restlessness. Of feeling out of place in the world.

Sixteen years later, I find myself in a similar place. Another coffee shop. Another season of watching something I cannot control. This time it is not a wasp, but winter itself.

Snow piling endlessly. Days that feel heavy. A body that has slowed. A spirit that feels confined.

And again, I feel that familiar restlessness.

I long for warmth. For movement. For beaches, trails, and long evenings with family and friends. I find myself yearning for a change in season, both outside and within.

Made for More, But Not Made to Escape

Years ago, I wrote, “I am made for eternity, therefore I am discontent in this temporal world.”

I still believe that. But I understand it differently now.

At that time, my thinking leaned toward escape. The idea that this world is not my home, that I am simply passing through.

There was truth in it. But it was incomplete.

What I am beginning to see more clearly is this:

The destination was never somewhere else. The destination is here.

God’s Desire Has Always Been to Dwell With Us

From the beginning, God’s intention was not to abandon creation but to dwell within it.

“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.”
— Genesis 1:31

Creation was not a mistake. It was declared good.

We were made to live with God, not apart from Him.

Yet we chose independence. We chose to define life on our own terms. And ever since, humanity has been caught in a cycle of striving and dissatisfaction.

We search for meaning, for control, for fulfillment, and it always feels just out of reach.

A Groaning World, A Shared Longing

That restlessness I feel in the winter, that sense of not quite being at home, is not an accident. It is a signal.

But it is not pointing me away from this world. It is pointing me toward what this world is meant to become.

“For the creation waits in eager expectation… We know that the whole creation has been groaning…”
— Romans 8:19–22

There is a shared dissatisfaction woven into everything.

Not because creation is wrong, but because it is unfinished. Waiting. Anticipating renewal.

Not Escaping the World, But Seeing It Redeemed

This world is my home. Not in its current brokenness, but in its promised restoration.

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them.”
— Revelation 21:3

Revelation does not speak of escape from the earth, but of God dwelling with His people.

Heaven and earth brought together.
All things made new.
Not replaced, but redeemed.

Dissatisfaction With a Purpose

That changes how I understand my own discontent.

Our longing is not something to suppress. It is something to steward.

“Behold, I am making all things new.”
— Revelation 21:5

Dissatisfaction becomes a catalyst.

It pushes us toward God.
And it draws us into His work.

A Call to Participate in Renewal

We are not just waiting for a future reality. We are invited to participate in it now.

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:20

This is our calling:

To be people of renewal.
Of reconciliation.
Of restoration.

In our homes.
In our neighbourhoods.
In our communities.

Not someday. Now.

And this work matters more than we often realize.

“Therefore… stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord… because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:58

Because of the resurrection, because of what is coming, nothing done in faith is wasted.

Every act of faithfulness.
Every step toward reconciliation.
Every effort to bring light into dark places.

It all matters.

Living Between What Is and What Will Be

The snow will melt. Spring will come.

But the deeper longing, the one that has followed me for years, will only find its rest when all things are made new.

Until then, we live in the tension.

Rooted here.
Hopeful for what is coming.
And steadfast in the work we have been given, knowing it is not in vain.

Even so, Lord Jesus, come.