Day 37: Home

No matter how far away I've lived, I've never missed Christmas with my family. One year it involved a 30-hour trip through 5 countries on 3 continents and nearly not making it, but I've always been able to get home. We have the best time. My first night in town, I usually arrive late (sometime after 10) but it doesn't seem to stop us from sitting and laughing with each other for 3 hours at a minimum until our faces ache and our bodies hurt from tiredness.

At Christmas, we have a tradition of playing risk together. Which, if you've ever played the game you know what a commitment this can be. It seems  that with all this time playing and knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses and general approach to the game, it would get old. But it doesn't. It gets better. Its like my old jeans -- frayed at the bottom, a few holes here and there, a random stain on the left side but who cares. They are the greatest jeans ever and I will wear them as long as I can.

Home is familiar. It is comfortable. It is a place to retreat to and know that you are loved. A place to laugh. A place to cry. To be yourself. It is the unique geography of family. There are traditions and rules -- spoken and unspoken. There is history, stories and relationships. There is mess. Hurt, tempers, brokenness and forgiveness. And it is the thing we all need most in the world. Having a home to return to gives us the strength to go out. To explore. To work. To fight for change in the world. To be who we are called to be knowing that in taking those risks we have somewhere to retreat to if things get too scary.

In faith, we have a home too. The church is that spiritual family complete with rituals, relationships, healing and mess. We gather on Sundays and holidays to share stories and to laugh and cry with each other. To life each other up and hold each other on this journey. It gives us strength to take risks, to reach out and to be light.

My homes -- the one I grew up in, the one I'm building now and all the churches that have been a part of my journey on the way -- provide the foundation that enable me to do what I can to bring light to the world. They are surely the greatest blessing that God has granted me.