I am thrilled to welcome Sarah Frazer to encourage us with a guest post today! Her new devotional, Coming Home: Finding God as Our Dwelling Place, is available now.

One of the best parts of my state is the change of seasons. Each season is so distinct, unique and beautiful in its own way. West Virginia is not portrayed accurately in politics, history, social media, news, or Hollywood. (Is any state rightly represented, though?) I’ve always been proud to be from West Virginia (not western Virginia – we are a separate state). Neither North or South, we find ourselves in-between.

West Virginia will not always be my home. Our family has some big changes coming soon. And we can’t wait to share with you some of the amazing plans God has for us! But today, I’m thinking of how I will miss the mountains.

West Virginia has hot summers, cold winters, cooler falls, and pollen-filled springs. The mountains are beautiful no matter the weather. Today it is rainy and dreary. Outside my window, the trees stand full and lush from the summer warmth, their leaves spreading soaking up the water. Only occasionally do I see a brown leaf hinting at what is coming.

Soon it will be fall.

If you talk to West Virginians, you will find almost all of them love autumn the best. The trees change from green to golden yellow, rusty brown, and flaming orange. I will miss the mountains and the seasons.  Psalm 121 is the West Virginia hymn. I memorized it when I was in high school from the New King James Version:

I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.

The mountains are truly my refuge. They represent security, protection, and safety. Our West Virginia hills are more than beautiful scenery: they remind us of our history. The roads curve and wind between them. We still have so many hills untouched by logging or mining. Drive 20 minutes from the city of Charleston and you will be surrounded by rolling hills. In this Almost Heaven place I am reminded of my Heavenly Home. I think heaven will have West Virginian mountains.

The God who created the Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, and Mount Everest, also formed the hills I call home. Although I’ve never seen those places in person, and maybe never will, God has given me a glimpse of His grandeur and majesty in my small neck of the woods.

Leaving the mountains will feel like I’m leaving a piece of me. It is my home, always and forever. But really, God is my home.

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.
Psalm 90:1

Home isn’t a place, a building, or even things. Home is a feeling of rest and security. It is a place to find shelter for your heart and soul. When I read Psalm 90:1, I realized I was living in the wrong house. My dwelling place, a place to find rest and security, was not within these brick walls. It was a place for my soul. And my soul would feel restless until it found its rest in God.

When Moses penned these words in Psalm 90 and 91, the children of Israel had refused to go to their promised home. The battle and work seemed too big, and their trust in God was too small. So God said, “No home for you here in this land.” They either were beginning their wilderness journey or finishing it. Either way, they had no home as a nation. Psalm 90 is the oldest psalm ever recorded. This song of prayer and petition to God holds truth we can abide within.

I recently wrote a devotional called “Coming Home” based on Psalm 90. Have you studied heaven from this picture in Moses’ hymn? If not, I encourage you to get my five-chapter devotional. If you purchase it, you will get over $30 worth of bonuses Bible study pages. Use the code MICAH to get $1 off!

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I’m Sarah, a wife for a little over a decade and momma of (soon to be) 5 little ones! Our youngest two are adopted from China. Finding time to drink my coffee and pray is something I would love to be able to do everyday, but I am easily distracted by phones, computers, and social media. I have found a rhythm to my Bible study and would love to share with you how you can find God through deep-rooted Bible study. My blog is a library of resources to use for Bible journaling, prayer, and Bible study! I believe any woman, in any season can find FOCUS to help with Bible study!