Home......

Last Friday night my nephew Jackson (8) came over after school to spend the night. He had been begging to do this since we moved in so a plan was made. The afternoon and evening went well and after coming home from a bb game at around 9:00 he announced....."I want to go home"....Well, this didn't suprise me at all as he quite the homebody but I wasn't about to get out again in the cold weather to drive him home.

What is it about home that draws us continually back to it?

I started thinking about this after I went to bed last Friday and pondered it many times over the last week. What is it about home? This is what I know. It is what is comforting and familiar. It is where we feel the safest. It is where we can just "be", not all prettied up for the world outside and probably the place we are the most authentic. Loved purely by those we live with although they surely see the real "ugly" we are good at hiding from the rest of the world...and.....THEY desire to come home. Wow......

It also got me thinking about what home really is. Living 20plus years away from where I grew up has brought many homesick moments.. Now I am here and miss home in TX (Mark being a big part of that). Hudson calls this house "new house", he refers to our house in TX as "home" and then there is "Grandpa's house". He seems equally excited and happy being in any one of those places....so, as often happens with children around, I have learned through Hudson's eyes, home is where "your people" are and although that sounds cliche...."home is where the heart is"...it is so true. Sure, I miss my house, my things, my closet (as we are going on week 6 of living out of suitcases which will spread into six months....) but those pale in comparison to being among those who know us the best and love us inspite of ourselves..........

And isn't that the heart of God? He loves us inspite of ourselves, in Him we are the safest we can be, where we can be totally authentic and trusting in His love for us. Where He desires us to come free of all the things we use to pretty ourselves up for the outside world and where He longs to just "be" with us. And isn't that what we should desire? To BE in Him?

"Lord, may my deepest desire be You.....my dwelling place, my fortress, my firm foundation,.........my home".

(BTW....just so you don't think I am the mean Aunt Sharon, I knew Abby, Jack's sister, was coming by to drop Jordan off so she took him home)