This month our family relocated to a new house. The previous rental where we had been at is being sold, and while we like that place, we had to begin searching for a new locale to lay our heads. We began praying, and we began looking, and something just right opened up in a way that we knew it wasn’t us or luck. One of the great joys of praying and listening for the Lord’s voice, is that the Lord speaks. Sometimes it’s through circumstances in such a way that you sense a wink and a smile coming from the One whom you’ve been speaking to. This transition has brought me to meditate on how we live in our habitats. The idiom that I’m sure we’re all familiar with is: “Home is where the heart is.” As I have been on my life’s spiritual journey, I’ve learned (been learning) that beyond my physical house, home is something much more significant. My heart is made to experience the Kingdom of Heaven. Author Frederick Buechner put it this way in his book The Longing for Home:
“I believe that home is Christ’s kingdom, which exists both within us and among us as we wind our prodigal ways through the world in search of it.”
So, as we adjust to new rhythms of life in our new shelter, it has also been a time to consider new ways of living our journeys with Jesus: winding and searching for the Kingdom of Heaven in everyday. I believe that when we live that way, the roots go deeper, regardless of the house. Home becomes people, people in whom we see the face of God. Not just those underneath our roof, but next door and around the block. In this ‘winding’ we are learning forgiveness, patience, and keeping our eyes peeled for the wink and the smile of God. In this sense, I’m learning that if your heart is where your Home is, then that’s when your house starts looking like Home.