The unfortunate reality is that "home" doesn't paint that same picture for everyone. While, for me, it breathes life, for others it may as well be the kiss of death. For some, home means brokenness, abuse, and heartache. For some, home is lonely and a reminder of those who can't be counted on. For some, home is walking on eggshells and feelings of worthlessness. For some, home is a place they've never truly known.
I consider myself incredibly blessed - not just because I have a family who loves me and has shown me the love of the Father, but because I have families who love me and show me the love of the Father. All across this globe, I have families, I have a home. It is not defined by the DNA that exists or doesn't exist between us, it's defined by the love I find there.
Traveling across the globe these past five days was quite the adventure. What normally takes two days more than doubled in length! I could've done without that 8 hour 44 minute layover of misery in Dallas where the airport was so cold I could practically see my breath - so sleep was more than a little elusive in my sweats and thin zip-up "jacket". And the 15 hour flight that seemed unending was not high on my "greatest hits" list, which will happen when at 7 hours in you're not quite completely past Alaska! And that delay in Dallas which caused me to overnight in Seoul upon being rebooked was not a moment that elicited an "amen" from me - though what I saw of South Korea was absolutely stunning. And that 5.5 hour flight into Bangkok where both my seat "buddies" fell asleep right next to either side of my face may have had me internally laughing, but I could've done without the burp to my right and the snores to my left. And while my overnight in Bangkok once I finally arrived in Thailand proved a restful time, I would've happily settled for a long 2 days of travel instead of 5!
Yet that moment of finally landing in Mae Sot once again brought with it a feeling I have celebrated again and again these past 24 hours... Home. Being greeted by familiar faces I know and love, being reminded of the family God has blessed me with here, I celebrate this home!
I celebrate my home here in Mae Sot as much as I celebrate my home in Kenya, in the Dominican Republic, in Phoenix, AZ, in Nappanee, IN and in countless other places across the globe! Home to me are those places of overwhelming love, those places where life is celebrated and those places filled with the unconditional love of the Father.
Jesus prayed in Matthew 7, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." And Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1 to "live out your time as strangers here" because this place is not our home. Two different points of view that seem in stark contrast to one another. Yet what could be stranger than living in such a way that ushers in the Kingdom of God wherever we go? To live not simply as broken people in a broken world but to live as people who love unconditionally, serve with humility, encourage and empower abundantly in spite of brokenness - both our own and the brokenness of others? To live as people who usher in Kingdom - a place free of guilt and shame and overflowing with forgiveness. A place of deep trust and overwhelming peace. A place filled with hope there is no measure for. A place of love whose depth, width, length, and height is beyond our comprehension. A place that celebrates life's victories and walks faithfully alongside those who are trudging through the valley. This is Kingdom come. This is home. This is the heart of the Father.
So when you find those places, when you find home, those are the places to be celebrated! Those are the places you take with you wherever you go, showing the rest of the world what home is intended to be. For those of us who have ever had the blessing of finding or experiencing "home", we carry within us an incredible gift to be given - thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven."
No comments:
Post a Comment