Home Away From Home

Where do you call home? Is home where the heart is? Is it sweet to you? I'll have to admit, after moving almost a dozen times in my life, it is hard to really call anywhere home. When people ask me, "Where are you from?" what should I answer? Do I say Los Angeles where I was born? Do I say the suburbs of Chicago where I lived most of my life? Do I say central Illinois where I live now?

Right now I'm back in my old stomping grounds of Los Angeles, California. I've really enjoyed visiting with family and some dear friends who I haven't seen in years. I do have to admit that CA does feel a bit like home. It is familiar and familiarity brings a certain sense of comfort with it. The beaches and warm weather might help with that as well, but this isn't really my home. Sure, I lived there for a while, but this isn't where I'm rooted.

I would also say that home isn't where my family is. Granted, I love my family. I miss them a ton and wish they were here with me, but being with them doesn't make that place home either. So, what defines my home? Where am I rooted? Where is that place where I truly feel like I belong and am among family? Honestly, I would have to say it's the church.

I love the church. Not just my church, but The Church. This week I get to worship and learn with a few thousand brothers in Christ. I've had the chance to go to conferences before, and it does feel like I'm getting a taste of home. When I worship with my church on Sunday, it feels like home. I miss it when I'm away for a weekend, and thankfully that doesn't happen too often.

Now, I'm not saying that it always feels that way. Sometimes it is a struggle and a burden to be a part of The Church. But these are the people I'll be with and the activities I'll be doing for all eternity. This is the life I will be living. So, maybe home isn't so much about where I've been or what I'm doing. Maybe home is really about where I will finally rest in the end.