Being Home

I keep thinking about Home. As I drove to the grocery store today, I witnessed the tangled mess of trees and branches waiting for cleanup. Blue tarps draped over roofs signaling destruction had touched down a couple weeks ago. It is all so random. In one tenth of a mile, it looks ‘normal’ and then all of a sudden a reminder jumps out like an uncle crouching around a corner trying to surprise a young kid – only the uncle has body odor and is more scary than fun. (Don’t worry, I won’t judge you for who you just thought of.)

And just an hour north of us, it isn’t mess. It’s gone. And again in Florida, people and homes are waiting for power, for insurance adjusters, for relief. 

What happens when Home meets something we have no control over like weather. Like sickness. Like accidents. What happens when an outside evil force threatens or attacks us or our family? What about when our bodies or minds or trusted loved ones betray us? 

What is home in times like these? 

When we decide to live as though Home is something we carry, something we are, how we respond to any of the previous events can offer remarkable personal insight. Not right or wrong. Just insight. 

Some of us go to work. Some of us get quiet. Some of us get angry. Some of us grieve so deeply. Some of us shop or send money. Some of us focus on other problems. Some of us start a new quilt. Some of us bake or cook. All of us, All of this, belongs at Home. 

We tend to create standards for ourselves (you know this) that look like the magazines at the check out line. Clean shiny counters, not a speck of dust, and you can never smell the kitty litter. We know they are ridiculous standards. 

We also have standards for how we must respond in difficulties and tragedies. Guess what? They are also ridiculous standards. 

But wait you say, surely we have to do SOMETHING when our neighbors (and ourselves) have been smacked down right in front of us. 

Yes. We must do SOMETHING. But when the voice says “I should really…” that is where we veer off course of carrying, of bringing, of being home. Your something and my something will be as different as our kitchen counters. Notice in yourself when you do something before you have a chance to think about it – that is likely you serving and loving from your Home Self.

Be Home this week. The world deeply needs you.