How would you describe home? What image first pops into your mind? Do you see a white picket fence surrounding a two story house? Do you smell that homemade apple pie just coming out of the oven? Do you hear the laughter as a family shares the highs and lows of their days?
These past 8 years I've resided in dorm rooms, tents, houses, apartments, and have practically lived in a 15 passenger van twice for two month stretches. Though living a mobile life isn't always easy, I consider myself blessed to have been so well traveled. I remember one morning, while camping in the mountains of Romania, I peeked my head out of the tent only to find a handful of stray cows. For a week I showered under a waterfall and found myself responsible for five kids who were accustomed to living on the streets. Or there's always the lullaby of the ambulance that I fell asleep to almost every night in college. It didn't help that we lived just down the street from a hospital. I miss sitting on the roof of my dorm and watching the fireworks from Navy Pier.
And I will never forget the huge Texas sky. I've never seen a sunrise or sunset that could compare with those in Garden Valley. I became a morning person, with my alarm set for 5:50 AM, just to see the darkness fade away and to watch the glorious splash of colors that would stretch across the horizon.
My favorite question over the years has been, "So what is your address these days?" They write it down in pencil, knowing it's likely to change sooner or later. Some people have stayed in the same location for 25 or 50 years. I feel like God has given me a pioneer spirit. He plants me in a place for a season and then taps me on the shoulder and says it's time to go somewhere new. Goodbyes are never easy, and yet, it seems that at the next stop, a new family greets me. In the adjustment phase I relearn what it means to cling to God. He is my home, His presence my address.
No comments:
Post a Comment