These last few days, I was at our friends' house (with our two goddaughters) in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. I'm also with our two sons and our two other "sons" from South Korea and Germany. We're showing them another part of the USA, known for its niceness, abundant lakes and its innovative arts scene.
Our German son will soon be leaving for home in two weeks and is taking my son who will visit with his family for a month. One of my goddaughters is leaving for Sweden in a few days. Actually, there is a lot of coming and going, as our Korean son will leave also be leaving for home next month, and my other son takes his first plane ride alone to another adventure.
So, last night, we talked a little about adventures and what that means about home.
- "Home is the place where you grow up", said my goddaughter who has lived in one town her whole life. She's got one stamp of Scotland on her passport, and will be soloing into Sweden.
- "Home is wherever I am now", said my son who has lived in four homes and three different states in city, suburban and rural areas and is packing for his first trip out of the country soon.
- "Home is right here", said our German son, who has already done a fair bit of globetrotting for one his age.
I loved hearing their ideas about home as a presence and place to grow. Home is about the present tense.
A friend of mine, who was temporarily homeless at one point, carried in her pocket a toothbrush, a comb and a card that reminded her "Home is not a place, but a power." (She did get situated in a nice home and a neat job shortly after, by the way.)
This line is from one of MBEddy's main book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and has been a foundation stone for me as we build our own sense of home:
Home is the dearest spot on earth, and it should be the centre, though not the boundary, of the affections.
Home to me is an active force, open and as free as a breeze and stable as a rock.
When my husband and I got married, we both loved the idea of home being a center and not having boundaries. We have opened our home to, well, it's almost twenty people, both individuals and small families, who have shared our home - some for a few months, others for over a year. Some were near homeless, others were transitioning into new jobs, schools and homes. We've all progressed and grown together and are the richer for these experiences.
We've had the added benefit of teaching our sons that there are many loving people in this world, and everyone has something worthwhile to teach, and interesting to learn. Our sons have learned how to collect feathers, identify gypsy moths, play piano and sing and learn about opera, babies and other cultures - all from those who enlarged our family for a time.
As a special tribute to my dad on Father's Day this Sunday, I have to give him credit for instilling this idea in me - that home is a safe place where you are always welcomed, and then encouraged to go back out again and have adventures. And it is my husband who has helped make home an adventure in itself!
Summer is a great time of coming and going and spreading one's wings. And knowing that you can take home with you is a comforting and powerful idea. What are some of your thoughts about home?
To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.
1 comment:
Love your kids' take on home.
A friend who had been tossed out of her home years ago, told me that for her, Home is where God is, and we are His guests.
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