Omnes Domum Reduent

Everyone Returns Home.  That's what the title means in Latin.

I have been very aware of the notion of home lately.  I have blogs written about leaving your comfort zone and having the courage to walk away from home.  Now I want to focus on the joy that is home.

You know the simplicity of childhood?  How lovely it was that your only worry was how to make your blanket fort bigger? That’s the feeling I experience with Jesus.  When I truly rest in His presence and His grace, my worries just disappear.  It is not a complicated love.  It is a love like childhood - a love of innocence, of purity, of laughter, of joy, of ice cream on the porch.  People try to make religion a complicated institution, when in reality, it is a simple relationship with Jesus Christ.  He loves you like his child.  He wraps you in his arms, twirling your hair with his nail scarred hands. 

My favorite story in the Bible is the homecoming of the prodigal son.  The son decides he wants an extravagant life, but it ends up leading him to squalor.  He comes home, yearning for the simple life he once knew, even if it means being a servant.  But when he comes home, his father greets him with open arms.  His father doesn’t care what he has done, he simply wants to love and take care of him again.  This paints a beautiful picture of our Heavenly Father.  He does not see our miserable selves, but an innocent child who needs love. We run away from Him, from our true home, to see what the world can offer us.  We eventually realize nothing can beat the comfort of home.  We come running back to find our Father on the front porch, arms wide open.  Nothing is sweeter.

In a literal sense, this is how I feel coming home from school.  I can feel the worries of the world leave me as I walk through my front door.  More often than not, I come home and fall asleep on the couch because I do not have to worry about anything.  I am safe and warm with the people I love most.  That is what the simple love of Jesus gives us - a home.

I am not saying the entire life of a Christian is easy or comfortable.  But I am saying the gentle call of the Lord whispering, “Come home, daughter, just come home, and let me love you” makes it all worth it.

Country Roads Always Lead Home

As I sit on my back porch in the heart of the Appalachian mountains, I can't help but be thankful for my West Virginia heritage.  I have written numerous papers and blogs about my love for the mountain state.  Today, on Mountain Mama's birthday, I continue to fall in love with this state.  Honestly, I think if everyone had a little bit of West Virginia in their blood, the world would be a better place.

In West Virginia, we swing life away on porches.  We chat with our neighbors for hours and share a glass of lemonade with strangers.  Summer days are spent barefoot in the creek chasing the shadows and minnows in the cool water.  Summer evenings are best enjoyed making lanterns with lightning bugs caught under the moon.  Autumn strolls by on ball fields and campfires.  The hills are ignited in color, creating an aroma of melancholy and beauty unmatched by anything else.  Winter wriggles into our lungs as the boney fingers of trees are covered in a blanket of pure white snow.  Giggles intertwine with the steam of hot chocolate shared after a day of tracing our way down hills on sleds. Spring reminds us of the grace of God as the hills come alive in a cacophony of bird songs and redbuds.  We all catch spring fever and once again spend our days barefoot in the grass, even if there's still a little snow in the shady places.

We all need more West Virginia in our blood.  Our heritage is hard work and family.  This state was formed straight from the mountains, where we foster love and hospitality.  The road has not always been easy for us.  We are still made fun of for our backwards ways and bare feet.  But every time someone sneers at me when I reply "West Virginia" to their question of where I am from, I smile because I know the secrets of the mountains.  I know the values fostered in this state, which they may never experience.

Maybe our secret is barefoot days and lightning bug nights.  Maybe it is the beauty we have always found in the simple things.  Maybe it is our value of God and family (and here, everyone is family).  Grass stains and muddy toes are not a burden to us, but a reminder of a day well spent.  Conversations are not an inconvenience, but a blessing that intertwines all our stories.  Food is not just a necessity to our health because a meal of beans and taters shared with the ones you love is laughter and prayers cherished for a lifetime.  The world would be a better place if we all made those things our priorities.

There's something about this place that makes it home to everyone, not just the ones born here.  When you breathe in the mountain air, it finds its way deep into your bones and refuses to leave.  Always remember where you're from.  Cherish your accent because there is a culture all its own in y'alls and hollers.  Even if you move away, find a creek and take off your shoes.  West Virginia is the perfect mixture of mountains, love, and simplicity.  So happy birthday, Mountain Mama. You are the closest to heaven we will get on this side of eternity. I am blessed to always call you home.

An Apology

In a time of political turmoil, there are so many blogs and "open letters" of various kinds with the writer's opinion on a certain matter.  There are so many arguments out there, I have a hard time keeping them straight.  I honestly am on the fence about so many issues that I am not even going to attempt to address any of these things.  There is nothing in the Bible about whether we should support Bernie or Trump, or boycott stores because of a bathroom policy.  There are two things, though, that the Bible clearly states.  These two things are what I am clinging to in the time of political upheaval in our country.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no other commandment greater than these." - Mark 12:30-31

Could Jesus be any more clear?  He specifically and radically calls us to do one thing: love.  First, love God, because He is the ultimate Creator and is worthy of our love.  Additionally, when you love Christ, it is easier to love others.  When you realize we are all equally cherished and desired by the God who hung the moon, loving others seems a natural response.  If he can love me in my wretchedness, I can certainly love others in theirs.

I understand both sides of nearly every controversy out there, or I at least try to.  I also try to look at these issues through a Biblical lense.  There usually isn't a clear cut path in the scriptures regarding who I should vote for or what store I should support.  But every time I look in the Bible, Jesus clearly states our need to love those around us.

As believers, this is our doorway into showing other the love of Christ, which is so much greater than anything the world can give them.   God does not need our help judging anyone - He's got that covered.  He calls us out of our comfort to love and be His body on earth.  To me, it seems rather difficult for a non-believer to draw Christ's love out of all the slander thrown their direction.  I hold tight to these verses because there is no greater feeling than love.  That is what we all strive for on this earth, but instead, we are surrounded by hatred and negativity.

I am not saying one view is more right than the other.  I am also not degrading the fact that everyone has an opinion.  I am just saying that there are a lot better things to do with our short lives than to hate on other people.  Christ calls us to love on others so the world may see Him.

If you are reading this as a person who does not believe in a god, or Jesus, please know that I love you.  I may not agree with everything you do, but I love you just the same.  More than that, though, Jesus does.  You may have experienced hatred from people who claim the name of Christ, and for that I am deeply sorry.  I just want you to know that there is a God who loves you more than you can imagine.

The Head and the Heart

In our lives, our head is in constant battle with our heart.  Our head inhabits the rational part of our existence, while the heart is a little more impulsive.  Every choice we face reignites a battle between the two - at least the hard ones do.  That's why we struggle to make big decisions.  Our head is in opposition to our heart.

"Everything will be okay," says the head.

"He's lying, cry until it hurts," says the heart.

Sometimes I find it easy to listen to my logic.  I know one choice is the far more reasonable one.  Every now and then, though, I develop these terrible things called emotions.  They wriggle their way into my brain and short circuit all my neurons.  A logical thought gets lost in translation, and my decisions no longer make sense.

I get overwhelmed by a storm of emotions, each fighting for my attention.  The logical and reasonable thoughts are swallowed by the waves.  I am but a boat with a broken sail in the depths of a hurricane.  Luckily, I know the One who calms the storms and walks on water.  He has the ability to command the tumultuous sea to stop its turning and listen to Him.

Know it is okay to cry because tears are needed to cleanse your heart of its burdens.  Know it is also necessary to pick yourself up, put on your big girl panties, and say "everything will be okay."  My dear, it will be.  The clouds may seem as black as night, but the remember One who calmed the storm can calm your raging heart.