Rest-Hit the Pause Button
I’ve wandered a bit in my life. My travels have taken me to almost every state in the union (4 left to go). I have spent almost a year of my life in England (3-4 weeks at a time). I like to travel and those experiences of new landscapes and cultures have shaped me.
As much as I travel one of the best parts of any trip is coming home.
There is nothing more comfortable than sleeping in my own bed. There is a safety and security in being with my family and in the common, known surroundings of where I live. Home is my anchor in any storm. I realize for many this sense of home as a place where they are accepted, where they belong is missing. Having a place where you belong, where you know you are accepted and safe, is essential to our emotional well being. When it’s absent we feel it.
We often identify ourselves by what we do. You meet someone new and early in the conversation you will undoubtedly ask or be asked, “What do you do?” While we may find satisfaction, even some sense of identity in what we do, our worth is far more than the sum of our efforts. A key component of our identity actually comes from a deep understanding and appreciation of where we belong. For most people, that core place of belonging is called home.
You’ve probably heard it said, “We are human beings not human doings.” How you see yourself apart from what you do influences every aspect of your life. This self-awareness is rooted and strengthened by your sense of home: finding, embracing even celebrating where you belong.
Before I was a priest, a musician, a student (whatever my role), I was M.Q’s and June’s son. I belonged to them and with them. I was loved and cared for. I did not have to prove my worth or find my place, it was gifted to me. Now, wherever I go, whatever I do, wherever I live, I carry that sense of belonging with me. Home becomes an internal geography, knowing I belong.
One of the saddest words to me is Homeless. People need a place to live. That is not the homelessness I am referring to. The deep sadness of this word is when Homeless means a person does not feel like they belong anywhere. Their upbringing perhaps was not a comfort. It may have even been violent and fearful. They were robbed of this gift of belonging and in that sense they have never had a home. How blessed is when they find a group, a team, a neighborhood, a church, a club where they truly begin to experience that deep sense of acceptance and belonging.
Today, if you know you belong, be thankful. If you see someone who doesn’t know this gift, be kind and offer them some of what you have been given. If you feel you do not belong, don’t give up. You can whisper a prayer. You can ask for help. All of us are on a journey to find our home and the place where we belong. Some may have been given a head start but we can all get there.
A Canterbury Partner
Church of the Incarnation began in 2006 and was birthed on the Canterbury campus. In 2010 the Church moved it’s operation back to Canterbury and became a partnered ministry. Having the congregation as a part of the fabric of all Canterbury is blesses so many. The ongoing worship, prayers and fellowship add to the health of this sacred space. Join them on a Sunday at 10:15am in the St. Augustine Chapel at Canterbury. You’ll be glad you did! http://incarnationcfl.com
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