There is nothing like totally uprooting your life and transplanting it for finding out what “home” means. As a kid growing up, we moved just enough to keep us from developing a total attachment to any one place or home, so I never suspected the depth of my roots even though it had been 44 years since I first stepped foot in Upland. I expected to miss our friends and church and community. And I expected it to take a while before new places and ways of doing things become second nature. What I didn’t expect was the feeling of homelessness. It’s not just about being surrounded by possessions or a familiar place and routine. It’s deeper than that. It’s something in my innermost core that says, “I am in the place that was made for me and I belong here.” Uprooting ourselves made me think about all the people who lose their homes suddenly in a natural disaster or some sort of catastrophe. If I feel uprooted and disoriented, what must they feel???
Our experience has made me realize in a whole new way just what “home” means. Yes, it is possible to feel rooted and secure in a place, especially after a lifetime there. But life is fragile, isn’t it? Everything can change in an instant and truth is revealed. My home on this earth isn’t really a place, it’s a Person. Only with God can I feel truly at home because I know it’s safe to put down roots and know that “here is where I belong.” We spend a lot of time creating a home, making it as beautiful as we can, and it brings us much joy to live amongst family and people we love. If we can love these earthly places so much, how much more joy and love will we experience in our true home?
Speaking of homes...we are gradually settling into ours (both of them), doing more downsizing as we go. That is a good feeling. We will be at our “home base” in Michigan most of the time until the end of the year, then in our little “home on wheels” in the sunny south. In late March we are due to become grandparents again (yippee!!), so here’s hoping there will be no blizzards in Minnesota then!
