Ask twelve people to define ‘home,’ and you will get twelve very different answers.
Shucks, I probably even have twelve different definitions of my own when it comes to my personal perception of home.
There are my childhood memories of home,
my attempts to establish a home away from home as a new bride,
the current state of chaos that my kids refer to as home …
No two brushstrokes are painted the same on the canvas of my mind when considering the meaning packed into this four-letter word.
It’s relative, isn’t it? This notion of ‘home.’
So what ‘defines’ home for you?
Is it a specific structure, a farmhouse that has been in the family for generations?
Is it a region, a broader area like the East Coast of the U.S. or the Eastern Cape of South Africa that encompasses ‘home’?
Or, like the Church, is it not about the building at all, but about the people?
Are you one who is able to uproot and replant just about anywhere, and still call it ‘home’ because of the loved ones who surround you?
This is Day 1 of the series, ‘Defining Home in 31 Days.’ Tune in tomorrow for my personal ‘definition’ of home …
Photo credits: Jim Bowen (apartments) Jeff Marks (farmhouse); Richard Bitting (Sweet Home Alabama); The National Guard (military photo)
Oh, this is such a tricky one for me. I will always consider ‘home’ as where I grew up… and yet if my parents were to move I know I would consider wherever they are as my ‘home’ as well. And then there is my actual home – with my husband and children and all that we’ve created around us. It’s ‘home home’, right?! I deal with the tension of homesickness a lot (living overseas for the last 13+ years) and am constantly reminded that although my passport is American, my citizenship is in heaven and my home is in HIM. Learning, learning…
This sounds like it will be a beautiful series.
Oh, this is such a tricky one for me. I will always consider ‘home’ as where I grew up… and yet if my parents were to move I know I would consider wherever they are as my ‘home’ as well. And then there is my actual home – with my husband and children and all that we’ve created around us. It’s ‘home home’, right?! I deal with the tension of homesickness a lot (living overseas for the last 13+ years) and am constantly reminded that although my passport is American, my citizenship is in heaven and my home is in HIM. Learning, learning…
This sounds like it will be a beautiful series.
Home to me is where u go to find peace and a place of relaxation and comfort. Home is get together, family meeting place , hot showers, big soul filling meals and the people u love. But the most important person who leads this parade is our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
Having moved at least 8 times in my life, and having both of my parents deceased, home to me, is my husband. After God that is. Hubby is my rock, my strength, and my anchor is this crazy world. Wherever I am, if I’m feeling homesick or unsettled, he has a way of calming me and steadying me that is priceless. God does that for me first. Without God, hubby wouldn’t be able to do this either. But because we are both believers, I find Him in him. And bypassing all that, if I can have my favorite coffee in the morning and my heating pad, I can feel at home in even the strangest places. I truly am a homebody though and am most comfortable right here in my home.
Good series, Kate!!
It’s often the people more than the place, isn’t it, Judy? Thanks for sharing these thoughts. Love how you have your priorities in the right place, realizing that if not for God, even your husband couldn’t fulfill this role. Blessings to you!