Home time!
The bell would ring signalling the end of school. I remember those days when the class would erupt with excitement. Some looked forward to the trip away in the weekend or a celebration at home, and others simply relieved that school was over for the day.
The school gates flooded with students leaving the school ground walking home or picked up to go home or an afterschool activity.
A home is generally described as the place a person lives permanently. I think this definition does not fully capture what a home is. For me, when I hear the word ‘home’, it entails a safe place of belonging, comfort, and freedom. It is ironically both a place of privacy and openness.
While for many ‘homes’ may be the abode they are living in with family, I can imagine this may not be the case for some. The family dramas and hurt experienced within a household can push this sense of home away.
A school may become a child’s home and sanctuary as they feel most relaxed and free to be themselves. Or even a park or beach where a person finds the most inner peace and quietness as their home.
Home is where the heart is
I’m sure we have all heard this saying before. I think this metaphor beautifully captures the emotional connection to a home. It signifies our home is wherever our heart loves and is passionate for. Our home is where we spend the most time to pursue those purposes.
Similarly, Matthew chapter 6, verse 21 reads “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This without doubt leads us to reflect on where our heart is. Over the last week, what percentage of your heart is spent engaged with the things of God compared to gratifying selfish passions and desires?
Travelling is not the end
Every day we travel to many places. We go to school or work, to the supermarket to buy groceries, or to a café to meet up with friends. Where is your heart when you are in these places? Is your intention to consume or to serve?
A day’s emotions can be like a roller coaster ride. Some of us start the day off calmly but become stressed from the busyness and unpredictability of work and people. Or we already start the day off nervously which heightens to anxiety throughout the day. We may unintentionally say or do things harming others and ourselves.
Our minds are always on the move, engaging with every little piece we see and hear. What is your mind most captured by?
Travelling is not the end nor is it an excuse to not go home. Just like at the end of a long school day or busy day at work, our hearts long to go home. We want to go home whether to a physical building or an emotional space.
Let your heart go home
God wants our heart’s home and treasure to be him. We were created by him and for him. So, where he is, is where we will find abundant love, peace, and rest.
God not only wants us to travel home, but also to journey in the path he is at. If he is our treasure, we will follow his directions and be wherever he is throughout the day.
Our ultimate home is in heaven. Jesus promises us that he is preparing our home for us in heaven. A place where 2 Corinthians chapter 5 describes is eternal and everything we long for. The Spirit of God in us is a sign of this promise.
So, before we arrive home eternally, God calls us to live like we are home, hold onto what Jesus is preparing is preparing, and follow the Spirit’s leading.
Let your heart go home to where it was created to be.
Stephanie enjoys simple living, admiring nature’s beauty and intricacy, and playing the piano. She is particularly passionate about empowering the vulnerable. Writing is her way of processing thoughts and feelings to understand herself, God and the world in a deeper and more meaningful way.