HOME

1 a: one's place of residence : domicile b: house
2: the social unit formed by a family living together
3 a: a familiar or usual setting : congenial environment ; also : the focus of one's domestic attention b: habitat
4 a: a place of origin ; also : one's own country b: headquarters 2
5: an establishment providing residence and care for people with special needs
6: the objective in various games ; especially : home plate

"at home"
1: relaxed and comfortable : at ease
2: in harmony with the surroundings
3: on familiar ground : knowledgeable

My husband and I went to an OAR concert last night at the Ryman Auditorium. It was a great show and my favorite song of the night was one that was new to me. It talked about home and how when you're on the road, you can long for home. Prior to having three children and changing my career direction from for-profit to non-profit, I traveled a lot for work. I rarely travel now and when I do, my family is usually with me. I don't really get far enough away from my home to long for it, but the song did make me thing about the qualities that make us long for home.

I am in a season of life right now that's very busy. All three of my daughters are involved in after-school activities and while I try to be someone who preserves our time as a family, we are undeniably short of time at home together right now. Instead of longing for home, I long for the images conjured in my mind by the word "home." I long to curl up with a cup of tea and a book and have my children flitting around the house while my husband putters about or curls up with his own book.

What is home to you? Is it fragrant soup with warm bread on the table? A clean house? Has your definition of home changed over the years? I clearly remember a flight during my first year of marriage when the plane landed in a city I had lived in for less than six months and I thought to myself, "It's good to be home." Now, this city was technically my home, but my emotional relaxation at being "home" was from the fact that I was back in the same place as my husband. That one moment made me aware that home is so much more to me than wood and shingles. The people are what makes it home. So while I don't get very far from my home right now, I'm longing for home in a different way. I'm longing to have these people that I love so deeply (A, B, K and J) with me with nothing else to do but be together.