HOME

I started the day out with a devotional that I am days behind in. I read the first couple and they are regarding friends and family. I quickly text all my “inner circle” and let them know how thankful I am for them. I do the same to my family. Starting 2021 out Thankful just feels right. The next devotion I come to is about HOME. The starting paragraph is a question to prompt thinking, “What comes to mind when you think of the word home?”. I might have thought about that in the past but didn’t put much weight into it. Today, that question just struck a cord. “What do I think about when I think of home?” What makes a house a home for me? I know it’s not all the stuff that I have accumulated. I know it’s not just the people, that’s so clique…right? It is the people but what happens when those people leave, does that mean my home is no longer? So I don’t think it’s just the people. I would say it is anywhere that my heart, soul, spirit is at rest, at peace. I know this is going to sound so clique but I am at home anywhere I am with God. He hasn’t ever and will never leave me. He has always been right by my side. He is never failing. Even in hard times, He is a comfort, a relief, a game changer, a way maker, all the things I need in that moment. I do know how clique and maybe even naive this sounds but it is so true. Until I started writing this out, I couldn’t tell you what “HOME” was for me but in a few short sentences, God has revealed just that to me. I don’t think it’s just for me, I think it’s for you too.

What do I need to make a house a home? Honestly, a house is sticks, bricks, stones, materials until your bring hope, love, faith, joy, sorrow… all those things into it. Yes, a home isn’t just about the good times, there are bad times too. There are hard times. Time when you just want to quit, lay down, walk away and never look back. There are times when you just want to set the place on fire like a Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert music video and walk away. The good times are great and make a home warm….but the hard times are what makes a home comforting. It is a comfort to know that I can walk into any room in my house and just be me. The me of tears (good or bad), smiles (happy ones or sarcastic ones), shouts of joy and shouts of frustration, anger and disappointment, and all that makes me, me. My house is a home because it is where I am at peace. It is my resting place. It is where God is with me and walks me through life. A home is a place of healing, a place of rejuvenation. It is also a place of new beginnings and starting over, do overs, “I’m sorry’s” and “that’s ok, we’ll do better next time”. A place of love and a place where you can be you without expectations, without restrictions, without judgements….I don’t think that’s just a house. My house is work sometimes so it isn’t just at my house. Sometimes home for me is in my truck with just the right song and driving no where in particular. Sometimes home for me is a walk in the early morning, just me, God and His creation. Sometimes home for me is a friends table. Sometimes home for me is the alter or at church. Home can be anywhere. A house is not always a home.

My HOME, my house is always open. My friends and family know that my home is always open to them. Anytime, night or day. We can still at the table and discuss anything, make a plan, put it into action; or we can still on the couch and I will be the comfort or encourager that they need; or if the situation warrants, I always have a movie or show that can make them forget what is going on and just escape for a while. My home and place of rest, can also be their place of rest. That is what I prayed over my house when we bought it and it has been just that. It is a good thing these walls can’t talk.

I pray you think about what HOME is to you. Really think about it, let God open your heart up. Open your house to those around you and make it a home.

Isaiah 32:18 – My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places. NKJV

Isaiah 32:18-20 – My people will live in safety, quietly at home. they will be at rest. Even if they forest should be destroyed and the city torn down, the Lord will greatly bless his people. Where they plant seed, bountiful crops will spring up. Their cattle and donkeys will graze freely. NLT