Five months from today, on April 1st, 2018, Lord willing my memoir will enter the world.
To celebrate the upcoming release, for the next several months I’ll be hosting a brand new series called Heading Home Together, featuring a number of guest bloggers sharing stories on home, eternity, longing, and belonging — all themes that are present in A Place to Land.
To kick off this series, it’s my pleasure to welcome my friend Mary Geisen to the blog. Mary is a wise and generous woman of God. Her book, Brave Faith: A 31-Day Devotional Journey is available on Amazon.
Here’s Mary:
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The temperature felt like ninety degrees in the noonday sun. If I looked closely, I saw steam radiating off the asphalt. Nearby, my mom looked confident and in control in her tennis skirt, hat, and sunglasses.
I gazed at the volley of tennis balls distractedly, waiting for the moment I needed to fetch the ones that fell out of play.
Everything changed when I realized my mom was talking to me.
“Do you want to hit some balls with me?” she asked.
Quickly I scooped up the extra racquet and wrapped my right hand around the grip. This began my foray into the world of tennis. Time with my mom was precious. Learning how to play her favorite game was priceless.
Finding your sweet spot is a tennis player’s dream. The ball goes farther and faster and basically, you have a better chance of winning. This lesson was one my mom taught me and it has followed me through my life. I do not play tennis anymore, but I remember the sweet moments my mom and I spent together on the hot tennis court during the summer.
[Tweet “Reimagining home is finding your sweet spot by opening your heart to seeing home through God’s eyes.”]
Reimagining home is much like finding your sweet spot.
It takes what you already know about home and mixes it with all you learn as you journey through the different seasons of life. It reframes the typical ideas of home as a shelter to be so much more. Reimagining home opens the door to your heart and makes space for seeing home through the eyes of God. And when you do this work, God aligns each part so finding your sweet spot becomes a reality.
My definition of home has changed over the years. During the last year, God completely reshaped my idea of home as I packed up and moved away from the area I lived in my whole life. He took me away from the comfortable and showed me how to find Him in the transition through friends. God welcomed me into new beginnings while teaching me that a true home will always reflect Him.
Reimagining home embraces your basic beliefs by providing the foundation and adds on God’s lessons to give it shape.
Home is …
Arms open wide ready to embrace you in a hug.
Making dinner and sharing it with those you love.
Not just the place you lay your head at night.
The door you walk through to acceptance.
An open window of invitation.
The foundation of who you are and what you are becoming.
Home allows joy and sorrow to coexist and never judges. We feel most at home when we know that leaving doesn’t mean forever, but until we meet again. When goodbyes happen, home is still there. Home is not only where your people are, but who you carry in your heart.
Finally,
Home is finding your sweet spot.
It is the place where you are always invited.
Where you will always have a seat at the table.
And the place you recognize who you are becoming because it’s where you feel most like YOU!
As you reimagine home, let go of any preconceived ideas and let God reframe them for you. Embrace the welcome, find your seat at the table and allow yourself to become the person God created you to be. Open your heart to new beginnings. Journey on the path to becoming and let God lead you to where you ache for home.
“The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”
― Maya Angelou, All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes
Mary Geisen is a lover of coffee and deep, soul-filled conversations. She is the mom of two married sons, a retired teacher, writer, author and seeker of grace in the ordinary. Several years ago, God called her to bravely step out by sharing her journey in written form. The power of God’s words has inspired her journey of healing and drawing closer to God through the power of grace. She continues to walk toward brave faith in her everyday life and encourages others to do the same.
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This post is part of the Heading Home Together blog series.
To read more posts in this series, click here.
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Get your signed copy from Discovery House for just $9.99 while supplies last!
This offering is relevant to all of us, Mary, because as our lives change we are continually being called upon to reimagine home and to find our heart’s true dwelling place in God. I’m so thankful for the way you share His work in your life.
I think when we reimagine home we are allowing God to continue to transform us no matter what stage of life we are in. Home means so much more than a physical dwelling. God is convicting me of this truth while writing this series.
Thank you for popping over here and leaving me encouragement.
Gary and I are one step behind you, Mary, reimagining a new home, that is. We took a “staycation” the past two weeks to get our house ready to “possibly” put it on the market in the spring. We’ve talked about moving for years, but I can never quite pull the trigger. Still, like you’ve said, I know that wherever the Lord leads us will be our “home.” Because it’s really not about the house, is it?! Love that you took that leap and are now challenging us to reimagine our home –no matter where the Lord might lead us. And thanks to Kate for highlighting you here!
I know you have been prepping your house for several years. It’s hard to take that next step if home is full of memories. I also get “comfortable” where I am and find moving on to be a huge step. I know when you and Gary take that step, you will find such freedom and peace. For me, I prayed about this step for several years and love that my dream aligned with God’s dream.
Kate is so generous and I love being part of her community!
Excellent, Mary. Kate made a great choice to begin her series!
Thank you, Susan! God is working on me and in me as I journey to understand home. So glad you stopped by.
I love this: A true home will always reflect Him.
Amen! Thank you for stopping by Debbie!
I like the idea that home is the sweet spot. Having moved 9 times in marriage, I have come to find each new move an adventure and each new home shortly becomes a home once we move in. We spend so much time searching for the perfect home, but in the end the people in the home always become more important than the home. Enjoy your new home.
Finding the perfect home is elusive. Finding the sweet spot that makes home feel like home in my mind is when we find God and let Him be the center. Blessed you joined in the conversation.
Oh I was so glad to find here, Mary. I have enjoyed reading about home and how it means so much more. Blessings to you and thank you for sharing these words, friend.