“I go to prepare a place for you . . . in my Home are many rooms.” Jesus

“When I think of home, I think of a place where there is love overflowing.”  From the Musical “The Wiz” starring Michael Jackson and Diana Ross

Where is home for you?

What does home mean to you?

There are many ways to understand home.

It can be the place one grows up.  Often-times people with dementia will say “I want to go home,” which is a longing to go back to that place where they lived as children.

Home can be the place where you feel most loved—whether that is a physical space or not.

Home can, of course, refer to heaven.  One’s eternal home that Jesus speaks of.  How many times have I heard older people, often-times struggling with the suffering associated with aging, express that desire!

Today I leave for Iona in Scotland.  It will be my sixth time in the place I consider my sacred home.  It’s the place I where I can be fully me.  Where I am accepted for who I am in relation to God. 

Consider for a moment what it means to be at home with yourself.  In the book “To Bless the Space Between Us” John O’Donohue writes, “May all that is unforgiven in you Be released. May your fears yield Their deepest tranquillities. May all that is unlived in you Blossom into a future Graced with love.”

Home is that place where forgiveness is found in abundance. 

Home is that place where fears find no resting place and are released. 

Home is that place where grace and love abound, allowing us to blossom.

All of this and more may be found in a peaceful domicile, in the presence of parents and family, or in the presence of God. 

This journey in life is one that begins by leaving home, finding our way through temporary homes, and discovering our True home.  And then one day returning to our eternal home, the dwelling place of God.

May God bless you on your journey home.

(Please note that due to my pilgrimage back to Iona I will not be posting any more blogs this month.)