WHAT IS HOME?

This last month I have been planning a trip back to the West Coast. After 7 years we are finally able to make it happen. Up until now it just hasn't been possible and we have missed funerals, weddings, births and other special occasions. Living so far away you get used to missing these events, but it is always tough regardless. Because I grew up in a home where my extended family lived far away it doesn't seem all that unnatural to me to live far away myself. I'm the type of person who would have gone crazy living in the same place my whole life and I love the fact that I have lived in many communities and have had the opportunity to experience so many different people and things.

But planning this trip back has gotten me to thinking about what makes a place a home. The other day I was telling a colleague of mine that we were flying West this summer for a visit. They responded with, "Oh great! You're going home." It really made me pause. I realized I didn't think of it as home. I think of where I am right now as home.So of course in my usual fashion I began to step back and analyze what makes a home for me. Why doesn't it feel like I'm going home when I am returning to the place I grew up?

After much thought I have realized that I don't feel like I'm flying back home, because I am home. Right now. Here in Yarmouth. This is the place we have chosen to be our home for now. If I think of home, I think of the wood stove burning while we gather to watch a movie snuggled on the couch. I think of my woods out back and the stillness and peace they give me, even on the most challenging days. I think of the country roads that I love and the old wooden church that stands just down the street, it's steeple rising up through the trees to be seen from miles around. I think of the loons on the lake in summer and the owls in the forest at night. To me home isn't a place but a feeling. An inner peace of belonging. 

God's home

So when I fly out west this summer, it will be with a happy heart. I will be excited to see all the loved ones we have missed. I can't wait to wrap my arms around my family and hug close the ones that ensured that even though we have a geographical distance, our relationships have grown to become the most cherished ones I hold dear. But when it comes time to step on that plane to once again head East, even though I will be sad, I know it is then that I will be going home.