Welcome Home

So, this last week I have been absent. I have been gone. I swear I have left my brain somewhere. I think I might have left it here, in Indianapolis, IN. This is our CSU student crew at our booth at the National FFA Convention. We spent three days needing a lot of antibacterial gel because we shook so many hands! We had a great time. I always enjoy being gone. I don't mind the travel (altough that was one bumpy ride going in) and I don't mind the craziness of preparing, planning and doing a trip. I am always so happy to be home, though. I have heard that home is where the heart is. I have heard there is no place like home. I wonder what it is about my crazy, dirty, chaotic home that I crave so much when I am away from it. Even yesterday, faced with another idiot move of mine when I realized I wouldn't be able to get home because my keys were in Indiana, I was problem solving how I could most quickly get home. Mark isn't home (although it is better to come home to him!). So what is it? Well, partly it is this. Cy (the cat) and Boone (the lab) have attached themselves to my heart. I am not a cat person. And Cy is an annoying cat. He doesn't usually want love, only when I am doing my bible study (here he is sitting on my bible) or when I need to work on my computer at home. Boone, on the other hand, is always needing love. How can you resist this face??? He is always happy to see me. Excited more than any 5 year old lab should be. It is just welcome to come home to those things we KNOW. That never change.

I packed my bible and my devotion and my journal for my trip. And I didn't touch it. I feel guilty over this. I didn't make time. I could have, but I didn't. But his morning when I woke up to a quiet and peaceful house, I felt the call to the scriptures again. The Lord whispered to me, Welcome Home, child, Welcome Home.

I want to be that woman that has it all together, that can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, value her husband, take immaculate care of the carpet, provide service to the needy, love unconditionally. But, home is where I can be just who I am, because what is here loves me regardless of how long it takes me to unpack my suitcases. And my heavenly home, my father, well he made me just as I am. He knew that I would disown him this week, not focus on him, not trust him. And yet, he loves me. He welcomes me when I return, hugs me and reminds me that I can do better next time. And then, one day, he will say to me, not through a whispering of the Spirit, but face to face...Welcome Home, Child, Welcome Home.

Lord, I pray that where ever people call home, that they know you and your presence and gain a peace of knowing there is NOTHING, no NOTHING, that we can do that will make you stop loving us. For those that are displaced from their homes today, or are moving homes today, or have no sense of home, will you call them? Won't you give them your peace and understanding? Won't you welcome them? Lord, help me to reach out to them. I love home, help me to provide that to those that need it. Help me to point to the best home today. Lord, make my home strong. Let it be an offering to you. Thank you for all you give me. I am unworthy, but I am so grateful. Amen.