Home

I can visualize it in my mind. Every picture I conjour, a memory attaches itself. The literal address isn’t always the same, yet each place has the exact same name, and the same feelings flood over me.

Home.

That place that calls to us, young or old. A structure that holds a treasury of memories. For me, home has always been safe, full of love and laughter. A place where there is acceptance, a place to try new things with built in encouragers (and critics).  A place of warmth and relaxation. A place I learned responsibility, the necessity of family, respecting the rights and boundaries of others, how to fold the bottom sheet, how to torture my siblings, the wonder of reading, a multitude of ways to stretch a pound of hamburger, and the joy of exploring and learning new things. 
As I got older I was faced with the task of creating my own place that conjured up those same emotional characteristics simply described as home. My mind floods with images of the various houses my husband and I have lived in, along with snapshots of my laughing children, playing hide’n’seek, Batman birthday parties, tutu swimsuits, shadow puppets while camping, making heart shaped pizzas on valentine’s day, raking leaves, Christmas morning, the smell of pumpkin bread, making tents to read in, play in, hide in -the memories roll on and on.  
The other day, when I spent time in God’s Word and I struggled to apply what I read – God whispered one word to my seeking heart: Home.
I had read such a varied combination of things, one would think I could surely find some word specifically for me. I began with the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4. I wondered various things:  from “why did all the disciples go into town?” to “What was the Samaritan woman’s tone when she asked ‘Where do you get this living water?’ Was she curious or sarcastic?”  I was grabbed by the idea of worshiping in spirit and truth and searched various translations for a deeper grasp of its meaning. I picked up several truths as I read the passage and I jotted them down. Yet nothing challenged my spirit and I moved on a bit disappointed.
I read part of Psalm 27. I leaned into the idea “… I will triumph over my enemies who surround me…” (verse 6). I processed  through the idea that the Psalmist enemies were literal physical enemies and mine tend to be concepts like bad attitudes, anger, fear, and longing to belong. I grasped at verse 8, “My heart tells me to pray to you, and I do pray to you, O Lord.”
Then I read a portion of a book entitled Draw the Circle that my Church body is reading through. The author talked about stepping out in faith and acting on dreams we are praying about. “If we want to See God move, we need to make a move.”
Finally, I did what I do every morning: I sift back through notes I’ve made to myself, I think about what I’ve studied and I ask God to break it down and specify “what is for me -TODAY?” My struggle to find a significant nugget of truth was intensified because God had been consistently quenching my thirst at His well, I didn’t sense I was battling a war-raging enemy, and the Holy Spirit wasn’t unveiling a big dream to step toward, nor reminding me of an old dream I had allowed to wither. God emphasized that I just needed to stay focused and obedient in the day-to-day routines, so I made some “good foundation notes” to myself to keep me centered in Christ.  Then I wrote down this:
“Christ surely gives me shelter- I seek the Lord’s face and find ‘home.’ “
In an instant, I knew God had spoken what my spirit was hungering for. When I choose to spend time in God’s Word, in prayer, in reading faith challenging books, in spiritual self-reflection  -regardless of any big “Ah-ha!” –  I’ve come home. There is comfort, acceptance, and delight. Every good thing imaginable is found in the presence of my Jesus, and my heart is flooded with images and experiences that reflect His goodness to me. Just like my family knows me too well, so does Christ- and even move so! Just like when the day is long, and I just want to get to my safe-haven and relax in my pajamas, so is it with Jesus; I can be myself, no worries about having to entertain or impress. Just like when I have exciting big news and I rush home to share my joy, Jesus delights in experiencing with me all the best life has to offer. Just like those days when its rainy or snowy outside, and I get the privilege of staying snug and warm inside, Jesus is my comfort as the tough stuff of the world and life rages. 

Lord, you have been our home since the beginning.
Psalms 90:1 NCV

Just like Dorothy said, as she clicked her fabulous red heels together, “There’s no place like home.”  I’m eternally grateful.