No Place Like Home

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home, as the old saying goes. For many, it feels real good to get out and about, yet after a while, the thought of returning home starts to give one a real warm feeling inside. The two places we seem to spend the most time at are work and home. While work may be considered a place of occupation and income, home can be an abode where one can recharge and heal. Some may live alone, while others share their surroundings, still, after a while we help generate its atmosphere. Home IS where the heart is, as it should be.

So, how do we really feel about our home? when it is threatened, it all becomes crystal clear. That chair in the corner, the painting over the fireplace, the coat hanging on the back of the door, all items that we casually pass daily….their importance in our lives stand out a mile away when the thought of losing them rears its head. It’s astounding to me how easily we as humans take so much for granted. This week country singer Tim McGraw releases his new album, aptly titled “Live Like You’re Dying.” Isn’t it sad that for some of us, we don’t truly come alive until we are facing the end of it? Let’s hope that the same can’t be said for the home, that we don’t take in it’s full meaning unless we are faced with the thought of losing it.

Around the world each day people lose their homes….financially, and through natural disasters. Next time you see television coverage of a hurricane or tornado, or fire, for that matter, turn off the sound and just look at the faces. Yes, they are hurt…yes they are fearful…but burning in the eyes is the determination to rebuild. In the image of their minds, is the picture of the home they once had…and once will again. I always believe that through the worst disasters, heroes and angels emerge. The best of humanity comes out.

This week just look around…the real treasure may be right in front of your eyes. Your home is your place. Be it ownership or rental, it doesn’t matter. What’s inside the four walls is you. We laugh, we cry, we mourn, we celebrate…it’s all there, filtering through each room. From the early morning to the turning off of the last light at night, we weave through our mortality, pass the doorways of time, that open and close within our homes.

All across the earth so many places, so many homes, yet one day our souls enter the home of Heaven, where one and all can feel comfort. Earthly homes, Heavenly homes….the family of man just looking for peace and love.