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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Home (01/09/06)
CAN I COME IN?

There’s no place like home.

Home is where the heart is.

Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelopes play.

Whether quoted in a movie, or reflected in the lyrics of a song, the sentiment is the same. Home is an important part of each of us. It may be a sprawling mansion on the outskirts of a bustling metropolis, or a one room shack in a rural enclave. It’s not the structure that defines a home. Now let’s be clear, the structure is important. It provides protection from the elements. Be it a frigid wind that rattles the bare tree branches on a cold winter’s night in New England, or a blazing sun that turns the pavement into a massive frying pan in the South, we are grateful to go into our structures, big or small, for relief.

Each structure provides a place for its inhabitants to eat, sleep, bathe and relax. We store our material possessions in the brick and mortar boxes or stucco covered pentagons. It maybe a large wood framed farm house or small log cabin, for someone, it is called home. Many spend hundreds and thousands of dollars outfitting their structures with beautiful works of art, extravagant furniture, and the newest electronics. A few will place a single full size mattress on the floor to allow five little children a place to lay their heads for a good night's sleep. No matter the size, the condition, or the location of the structure, it can only ever be just another structure.

What then is a home? Home is the space in time that you share with those that mean to the most to you. It’s where memories are created, tears are shared and insecurities are revealed. It’s where you feel loved even when you lose or fail. It’s where you hide from the things that went wrong that day, and where you get built up and rejuvenated to face the next. When you are away from home, you miss it. When you are home, you cherish each moment.

Now let’s be real. You may not always recognize a good thing when you see it. A working mom may find that after a long day of work, she comes home to kids screaming and crying over toys. Having to prepare dinner, help with homework, clean the dishes, oversee baths, gather clothes for the next day and then, tuck the little cherubim in bed for the night, she feels like she has nothing left for herself.

A father may come home on a Friday night anxiously awaiting a lazy weekend filled with football and a few naps on his favorite couch. To his surprise, he is met early Saturday morning with a laundry list of chores that must be done all weekend.

But despite the frustrations and disappointments that we face everyday when things don’t go as we plan, we know that this is life at its fullest. It is in these moments that we experience the things that make us beautifully and wonderfully made by our Creator. We experience unconditional love. Seeing the faces of our loved ones light up when we come home. We relish the warm hugs and sticky kisses that come from our children. We cling to the reassuring hug from a spouse. We need that affirmation from our parents or siblings. It’s what makes a structure become a home. A home filled with thanksgiving dinners and birthday parties; arguments and reconciliations; first steps and last breathes; triumphs and defeats.

The love that lives in each of our hearts for one another, gives a home its character and personality. It makes sense that God wants to reside in our hearts and live among us in our homes. He wants to watch us catch a glimpse of the depth of the love that he has for each of us. Even if home is not perfect, we have a chance to create a home in our hearts for God’s love to dwell. We can choose the people to share in this love and invite into our home created in our hearts. Be sure to invite someone into your home and share the love. Can I come in? Why do you ask? Because,

There’s no place like home.

Home is where the heart is.

Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelopes play.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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