~ Rethinking Home ~

This world is not my home...I'm just a passing' through. These are a few words from a great old hymn that I grew up singing. And oh how the words ring so true in my ears today.



Divorce can bring about many emotions and change. For me as a women it has felt like my whole home has been torn apart and my world shifted in an extreme way. I found myself last year or even two years back now struggling with this desperate need to hold on to everything I could. My things...my space. If I was staying with my sister or my parents I would fix up my space within just a few days. Making it look as beautiful as I could. Capturing every inch of space to make this beautiful surrounding that I thought would cause my heart to have this security I so desperately desired. When I got my first apartment I did the same thing. Within just two weeks I had the whole place decorated and ready to do what...live in? Yes, I felt this immense struggle to try my best to capture My Home. My home that had been torn apart by this failed space called Divorce.


Our home is more than our physical surroundings. It is the place we share our hospitality. It is where we welcome others. Where we encourage our friends and family and celebrate life. To me my home is a spirit of giving and living...it is more than tangible rooms and furniture and just all my stuff. It basically is my HEART. So, to have this torn apart...I found myself scrabbling to make every spot I landed in during this time as beautiful as I could.



What I've now come to realize is this...

My home is really in my heart. It is wherever I am. If I'm at my daughters for a visit...I take Home with me. If I'm with my son...there is home there too. If I use a room for two months at mom and dad's house...home abides right where I lay my head.

So many people nowadays are downsizing. They are rethinking how we capture our Home Spaces. So many are taking their eyes off of having the biggest and the most and putting more emphasis on saving...minimizing the burden of so much...and instead focusing on the importance....family, time, hearts connecting.



So, with this new discovery...home takes on a new look for me. It is the essence of my heart. It is the spirit of hospitality that we give to others. It is the apple or water we hand to the homeless man on the corner with the sign held out. It is the ride we give to a friend headed to a chemo appointment. It is a hug and the silence we share with a friend who is yet ready to express their pain. HOME is what we make it in order to create the beauty that God has given each of us in order to reach everyone around us. Let's be a people that are willing to give our HOME PLACES away. Let's rethink HOME.




I've discovered that our home is wherever we are and wherever we are touching others. Sharing God's love with all those He puts in our paths. Our physical homes are nothing compared to the Home that is right inside our hearts. Let's make those we touch happy to be with us wherever God places us in life!





"Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves too cozy in it."  1 Peter 5:11 (The Message)