Finding Those Silver Linings

It's the end of March. Monday was the first official day of Spring. Sunday night it snowed. It snowed all day Wednesday and until about noon today (Thursday). Not exactly how I hoped that Spring would start, but we gotta take what we get, right? And to be honest, it's absolutely beautiful outside. The fresh snow makes everything look so clean and bright. The trees are covered. And as I write this, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and everything looks amazing.

But I'll admit that when I woke up Monday morning and had to shovel, my first response was to complain and grumble and be upset that it was snowing on the first day of Spring. However, I very quickly remembered all the suffering people around the world and all the turmoil that is going on and that shut me up right away. A few inches of snow might be annoying, but it's nothing compared to what the people in Japan are dealing with after a massive earthquake and tsunami. And there aren't missiles falling from the sky in my backyard like there are in Libya.

So as I look out the window at the freshly fallen snow, I'm thankful for where I live. I'm thankful for a lot of things. And I'm reminded that there are people that need so much prayer and support right now to get through every day.

HOPE

Webster's defines hope "to cherish a desire with anticipation". Dictionary.com says "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best".

I am a firm believer in hope. I'm not known for being an optimist (or a pessimist). I tend to just be a realist. I look at what is and I call it like I see it. That is, until tragedy strikes. Then, once I've assessed the situation and seen what things are at that moment, something in me changes and I find myself seeing what could be. When things fall apart we have to start somewhere and begin picking up the pieces. We have to move on. And in order to do that, we have to have hope. Something inside of us has to know that things can change for the better. We have to believe that we can make a difference no matter how overwhelming the situation may seem. And in order to help we've got to have compassion. Hope and Compassion go hand-in-hand. I don't think you can separate them. Compassion is not only feeling sympathetic, but having a desire to do something to help those that are hurting. And if you want to help, then you have to believe that somewhere there's hope. You have to know that what is, isn't what has to be.

Sometimes in the midst of tragedy, hope can seem so very far away. When circumstances are beyond overwhelming, it's hard to see past what's in front of us. But as we begin to take the necessary steps to make things better, as we begin to dig through the rubble, as we pick up the broken pieces, light begins to shine through. We know this. We've seen it before. We've been here before. We cannot stand around and worry and shake our heads and talk about how bad things appear to be getting in the world. We are the world. And whether or not those directly affected by these tragedies are your family or not, they are someone's family. They are someone's friends. And you may not know them, but God does and He loves them just as much as he loves you. And that is Hope. 

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have HOPE. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His COMPASSIONS never fail. They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I have HOPE. ~Lamentations 3:21-24

Where Your Heart Is

Six months ago I gave up drinking coffee on a regular basis. However, I still enjoy a good cup a joe every now and then. This morning is a good coffee morning.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the whole concept of home. What does that look like? What does it really mean? And is it too much to think that everyone should be able to feel at home whether or not they have a roof over their head or someone to hold them at the end of the day?

I don't think that home is a place. If it were, we could spend our whole lives looking and never find it. We often refer to where we grew up as "home". And although there usually is a special bond to where you spent your childhood, most people move away from that and never really go back. Some people can't. And what about those that don't have good childhood memories? If home is all about the "greatness" of where you grew up, does that mean that they don't have one? Many people live in several different places throughout their lives and never really feel at home. At 26, I've lived in 3 different states and spent significant time a few others and never really felt like any of those places were home. Buildings come and go. So do our interests and desires of where we think we would like to be. This side of heaven, it's pretty difficult for home to be a place.

I'm more open to the idea that home is centered around people. Though I still don't think that should be the main thing. However, we need people in our lives. And not only that, we need people that mean something to us. We need people that we can love and care about and that love us back. We are not an island unto ourselves. Being a part of a community is important. So is being part of a family. We all want to be loved and needed and feel like we matter to someone. And when we are around those that mean the most to us, it doesn't matter where we are as long as we're together.

But people come and go. And if our whole idea of home is centered around people, then what happens when they are not there anymore? Do we suddenly find ourselves "homeless" and lost? Sometimes for a little bit. It's normal to feel a little displaced when your world is turned upside down. But life does go on and the sun will shine again. And a big part of feeling at home should be found within -whatever that means to you. For me, it's within my relationship with Jesus and with myself. Without Jesus, I would lost in so many ways. He's the Anchor that I can always hold onto when the rest of my life seems to be a little out of control. He's the Rock that I stand on when I can't find solid ground. He's the Grace that catches me when I fall. He's the one that I go to with whatever emotions are overwhelming me. And although I am constantly changing and moving and reformulating, He remains the same and there's something comforting about that.

Home also needs to be finding peace with yourself. Loving who you are as a person. Being content with where you're at in life while always striving to do better and become all that you can be. If you don't love yourself, you're going to have a hard time accepting love from others. If you don't love yourself, you're never going to be happy with anything that you do or become. If you don't love yourself, you'll never feel at home anywhere. But once you realize the amazingness that is you, peace and contentment will come and it won't matter where you are, you will feel at home. 

People who feel at home anywhere have a purpose. And they live each and every day with that purpose in whatever they do. Whether you feel like what you do day to day is great or small, if you do it with pride and a purpose, you will find contentment and satisfaction.

Surround yourself with those that you care about, learn to love yourself, find out what God means to you and follow your heart. And I believe that you'll be on your way to finding a place that feels like home.