A Place For You
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My people will live in peaceful places and in safe homes and in calm places of rest.” Isaiah 32:18
This month, I have been watching two nephews play baseball and a niece play softball. It is a joy to watch young children learn to play a sport and attempt to hit the ball. There is excitement on their faces when they actually hit the ball and run the bases, but what thrills each player is to cross Homeplate and score a run. One of my nephews, Avery, does a little dance when he touches each base, and when he touches Homeplate the joy and excitement flow from him. Being home is the goal.
Recently, I talked with my dear friend Dwight who moved into a new home. He is enjoying his new place because it is comfortable, peaceful, and he is surrounded by the possessions that are important to him. He has made the space his own and enjoys sitting on his porch in the morning drinking his coffee. His friend told him that he is “nesting” in his place. It is home, and Dwight prefers being home. He has found contentment being home.
I spent a day at home without counseling, a project, or anything on my agenda. It felt good to be home – in my house and not having to be connected with media or people. I sat in the sunshine and just lingered in the peacefulness of the woods around me. I was aware of God’s presence all around me and felt the contentment of being peaceful with no great purpose but to just be present and enjoy being home.
I live in my hometown. It is where I was born, graduated from High School, and where generations of my family have lived and currently live. It is my place of origin, where memories have been created, where family has lived, died, and are buried in the family cemetery. It is where the church is that I grew up in, and the church still remains active. It is where I first learned about Jesus. It is where my Grandma lived. It is peaceful, comfortable, safe and secure, and where I belong. My hometown is a peaceful Hallmark type of town where every time you go somewhere, you know somebody. People talk to each other, smile, and life is at a slower pace. It is home.
What is home? Home is where you are comfortable and feel safe and secure. When you come home from work, a trip, or from an outing, it feels good to be home. You relax and everything is familiar and it is yours. You have the freedom to be yourself and create the space to be what you want it to be. You sleep in your own bed, and you can eat what you want and make your own choices what to do. This is the ideal view of home. Not everyone has this feeling and contentment in the house where they reside.
I enjoy taking trips and exploring new places and having adventures. It is relaxing to go to the beach and enjoy the sunrises and sunsets. I eat different food and stay in a place that provides the basics of what I need. But it always feels good to come home and sleep in my own bed with my own pillow and use my own bathroom. Home is a place where I am surrounded with the familiar.
Home is more than a house filled with possessions. Home is a feeling of family, belonging, familiarity, a place of origin that creates the feelings of peace and contentment. Are you home with God? Our place of origin is with God – we are created in God’s image and we belong to God. God loves us as his children. But sometimes, we are uncomfortable with God and do not believe God will love us because of what we have done or that we are not good enough for his love and acceptance. When we finally surrender to Jesus and know that He loves us, died for us, and has a place for us, only then can we be home with God. It is not about being perfect, but it is about accepting Jesus’ love and grace.
Jesus has prepared a home for us in Heaven. When we die, Jesus will come and take us home to be with Him forever. We long for a place where we are loved, where there is freedom to be who we are, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no struggles, and that is Home in Heaven. Many of my friends have gone Home to Heaven this year.
Are you at home with yourself? It is being grateful for who you are. It is forgiving yourself and not absorbing or trying to fix everyone around you. It is not expecting others to validate you and give you happiness. You can have peace and contentment in your heart and be at home. Slow yourself down and look at what you are trying to do in life.
To be home with God now on earth is to be so familiar with God that you talk together throughout the day. Wherever you are, God is with you. God’s presence is in you through the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Spirit makes His home in your heart.
“Jesus answered, “If people love me, they will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23
Our world can be a scary place filled with pain, hurt, heartache and sadness. It is not allowing yourself to make all this negativity, anxiety and fear so familiar that you make your home there. Home is where your heart is. Be at home in Jesus. Allow Jesus to be the most familiar to you and your place of peace and contentment.
