It's been over a year since we sold my childhood home. Yet I still struggle with a deep aching to go there. This has disturbed me. After all, in some ways, it's just a house, right? With Mom gone, I can't help wondering why this place has such a hold on me. Place. That's the secret... and I figured that out on Thursday as I was reading the day's devotion in Our Daily Bread. I read it. I paused. I read it again.
"A thousand strands of time, events, and people weave into a tapestry we call place. More than just a house, place is where meaning, belonging, and safety come together under the covering of our best efforts at unconditional love. Place beckons us with memories buried deep in our souls. Even when our place isn't perfect, its hold on us is dramatic, magnetic." ~Randy Kilgore, A Place to Be
That's it! It's not about the house; it's about the place!
While it was home for my entire life, it was just Grandma's house to my niece, nephew, and daughters. It was Grandma Gene's to the her great-grandchildren. None of these people could call it home the way I did. But they loved it just the same. I've struggled with the reasons why. And then, on March 19th as I sat reading my Bible and this short devotion, I had my answer.
How we all long for this place. Yet I'm encouraged by the words of Jesus, who said, "Let not your heart be troubled. I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:1,2)
I will find my place again someday. And when I get there, I'll settle onto the couch with my mom, my sisters, my dad, my daughters, niece, nephew, grandkids, and more... We'll crowd around the kitchen table and share stories, like we always did, and once again, I'll be home.
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