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- Dericka Canada Cunningham
- Jun 1
- 4 min read
Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
June 2, 2025
This Week's Anchor
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)
I’ve had many a conversation in my work as a psychologist and psychotherapist about the concept of home. For many of us, our sense of home has shifted and evolved over the years—from moves across states, the nation, or even the globe, to selling and buying one house for another across town, to losing family, friends, and loved ones within our immediate space or from our home community. Regardless of your experience, I imagine your home looks and feels a bit different now compared to before. As a young, career-driven woman, I uprooted my life from my quaint hometown in Kentucky and replanted it in the bustling city of Boston. Therefore, redefining what home means has been an ongoing personal journey. I’ve lived away from my hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, for over a decade, and even still, there are moments when I greatly miss the fading memories of home and the community of loved ones who make this place matter. In the years immediately after my move, I’d travel back for holidays and other significant events and realize that the home I returned to didn’t quite feel like the home I’d left. It had changed, and more importantly, I had changed. Admittedly, noticing these changes left me feeling a bit lost and displaced, prompting me on a journey to find a sense of home within myself while being reminded of the eternal Home we, as Believers, have.
Sadly, these days, I often journey back to KY for the funerals of loved ones. A couple of years ago, I traveled home for the homegoing of a beloved cousin and had an interaction with a dear home-church auntie that has since remained with me. As I made my way around the church to greet and reconnect with familiar faces before the services began, I had a conversation with Sis. Ruby, whom I hadn’t seen in some years. As we caught up on our lives, we acknowledged that the last time we saw each other was at the homegoing of my cherished nana, who had passed just a few years before. As we continued to converse, I expressed how surreal it felt to lose my cousin at such a young age. And with the most reassuring and wise words, Sis. Ruby responded, “Well, ya know, we’re just passing by.” It was simple, yet everything I needed to hear at that moment. I traveled down to KY with the weight of stress on my shoulders, but as usual, celebrating the life of a loved one and reconnecting with community grounded me in what matters.
In the culturally and sociopolitically chaotic times we’re in now, I’ve been reminded of this moment along with our anchor scripture, which both illuminate the transitory nature of our stressors and experiences in this earthly home. We can get so caught up in the worries and challenges of the here and now that we easily forget this life is but a moment, and there is a Greater Home we will each, like my cousin, nana, and many others, be called to. The thought of returning to that home can be a bit scary for us and mournful when we remember our loved ones called home before us. At the same time, remembering our Heavenly Home can also be liberating and reassuring as it secures us in an unshakable hope.
Our anchor scripture encourages us in this. It affirms that:
Our troubles (and this life) are temporary.
The things we experience and navigate in this life are connected to an everlasting greater Calling and Purpose that extends beyond our physical bodies and lives.
In acknowledging this, we can consistently bring ourselves back to our enduring anchors (our relationship with the Holy Trinity, the Word, and faith communities) to ground us in our deeper spiritual foundation.
Regardless of what or whom folks believe, life is momentary for everyone. The sobering impermanence of life puts our troubles into perspective, giving us a new outlook on living. Those of us who believe in Eternal life are called to tend to this physical home God granted us (the ones we are housed in, the cities, towns, and communities that know us well, and the dwelling of our minds-bodies-souls) while also remembering and honoring our true eternal Home.
As we enter this week and a new month, let us pause our worries and busy lives, and revere the gift that Christ gave us in the sacrifice of His life—a gift of washed sins, ever-flowing grace, radical redemption, and, notably, a place we can call our Eternal Home. As we navigate life’s consistent changes and challenges, may we, in the words of a treasured gospel song, remember that one day we’re gonna return home with our crown and robe and tell the story of how we made it over. May we find peace in knowing that our earthly lives are not the end of our story. And may we embrace the boundless hope of our Heavenly Home.
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What do you need from the Holy Trinity to be grounded in the hope of our eternal Home?
What intention(s) do you want to set to connect and/or reconnect with being grounded this week?
Related Scriptures to Ground You Through This Week
Tuesday: John 3:16-17
Wednesday: John 14:1-6
Thursday: 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
Friday: Titus 3:3-8
Saturday: 1 Peter 1:22-25
Sunday: Revelation 7:15-17
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
“Reinvent yourself over and over and over and over and over until you find home. There is no timeline for the soul.” Malebo Sephodi
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