Looking for a place to call home

I've been flying under the radar the last few weeks.  I've been a little busy - trying to get settled, learning my way around, going out have new adventures.  I've been in touch with a few friends from previous assignments, made and kept an appointment at the Army hospital, and had lunch with one of my neighbors.  But we're still working on making this "home."

Home is more than getting the boxes unpacked, more than hanging pictures, more than filling the freezer and cupboards with food.  Home is about making a life, both in the house and out in the world.  And that part is really hard.  We're still working on finding a church.  There are 15 United Methodist churches withing 10 miles of our house (more choices makes it harder, not easier, in case you were wondering) and so far we have visited 5 if them.  Two were off the list before we got back into the car... one is too far away and two others are on the short list.  We're visiting number 6 this Sunday - then we make a choice.

Of course, we are an unusual family when it comes to finding a congregational home... we know way too much and have opinions about everything else.  And then there's the all important question... are we choosing a church family based on what they can do for us or what we can do for them?  So far, we're trying to weigh the choices evenly, but when we come to the bottom line, we just want to worship in a place we can call home.

Isn't that what we all want... you and me?  Not just to have the boxes cleared away but to find a place of meaning, at home and in the world.  All of us want to be in a place where we can know that we make a difference... a place where we can be loved for who we are... a place to serve when we are at our best and be served when we are in a time of need.

Right now each of us is in "between times" - between the times of saying goodbye and saying hello.  We are remembering good and bad times in previous places, and looking into the mist of the future, praying the there is a puzzle where our piece will fit.  Some of us are sending our kids to school for the first time and wondering what we will do with our days.  Some of us are going back to work after some time away.  Some of us are even in the same place, but people we love are gone, so we will have to make a new normal right where we are.  No matter what our situations, we have the opportunity to make the best of whatever comes our way.

I know that this will become home for us.  As has happened so many times in the past, we will be blessed by the relationships that we develop with old and new friends, and we will work to both serve and be served.  God's past and present faithfulness are reminders that there are big plans in store for each of us as we live fully through whatever circumstances meet us along the way.  For some of us that means moving from place to place. For others it means staying put and welcoming new friends into your lives, even if they are not going to be around forever.  Paul reminds us that we can be equipped to handle and even thrive in all the circumstances of our lives.  Simply put, that's what it means to be "home."

Paul writes: "Because we know that this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time—pray that our God will make you fit for what he's called you to be, pray that he'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something. If your life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you. Grace is behind and through all of this, our God giving himself freely, the Master, Jesus Christ, giving himself freely."  (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 in The Message)