A Reminder of Home!!

Live in me, make your home in me. John 15:4

Home is defined as the place where one lives permanently as in a member of a family or household. Home, for me, means the place where one finds joy, acceptance, encouragement, support, protection, purpose, identity, and rest. Everybody thinks about home when they need a little comfort.

The thing is, home doesn’t stay the same – it changes as our lives change. Randy and I both had growing up homes with different structures, memories, and identities. Each time we visit our hometowns, we never miss riding by our former homes because these were places, even though changed physically somewhat over the years, that still hold memories and love for us.

When I think of my growing up home, I think of days when I would ride with my Daddy down to the farm and stop at Johnson’s store. It’s hard to believe it, but Coke used to come only in returnable glass bottles, and the way to drink it was ice cold! If you wanted to make it even better, just get a package of salted peanuts, drink down a little of the coke, and pour some peanuts right into the bottle. Oh, the mixtures of salty and crunchy with that sweet coke was the best!! It’s nice every now and then to find yourself with a reminder of home. Even though my Daddy’s been gone sixteen years this month, the memories are still precious!

The homes we have known changed over the years. Randy and I spent his school years in an apartment, then moved to parsonages, and finally to our home of today. Each one became home to us. We were able to make our own traditions, create our own family memories, and feel God’s presence in each place. Even now, when we go back to these towns where we served, riding by our home is a a must. Memories just flood back in waves, and we still call it our old home.

I always loved the saying, “Come in, and make yourself at home.” My Mama used to say that people should feel welcome and accepted in her home. They always did. I think that’s what Jesus meant when he said, Make yourselves at home in my love.

We all need a place where we can lay down our worries, our weariness, and frustrations. Our souls need a place to call home, and Jesus wants us to be with Him. He doesn’t want us to enter as a guest, but rather as a family member that enjoys all the benefits that home affords.

Every time we travel away from home, the trip back home seems to be the longest leg of the journey. We wait impatiently in the airport, we wait for our plane, we wait to get our luggage, and we wait to get home. However, once we open that door and walk into our home, where the chairs are comfortable, the beds are softer, and the smells are familiar, we feel that peace of having arrived at home.

If heaven is anything like that, I can’t wait. Our home in heaven is a real place for real people. It does not consist of wood, glass, or mortar, but rather is resplendent with love, joy and glory.

All along our journey in this world, we get reminders of home. We read accounts of it in the Bible, we see the signs of it with God’s handiwork every day, and we experience it through loved ones and friends. The one constant in our lives is that the home that Jesus has prepared for us never changes.

Now, when I think of home, it is the place where we have spent the last thirty years, yet I know it won’t be the last home for us. It’s not the physical place but rather the loved ones who make the home.

Lord, You have been our dwelling place (home) in all generations. Psalm 90:1