Where is home? Is it
a place or is it a frame of mind? Is it
about the past or the present? Is it
about good relationships or difficult relationships? How we identify home, what it is and where we
find it tells a lot about us. Leaving
home in a transitional period, like heading off to college, or into that first
apartment can be nerve wracking and exciting all in one, knowing that, as long
as mom and dad don’t renovate or rent out the old bedroom, there is still a place
set aside for the one who is in transition.
Moving from one home into another, whether it is an apartment or a
house, or a house to an apartment, puts into perspective that the state of
“home” is more about who is living within the walls, not where those walls are
built. Leaving a faith community that
has been a refuge for decades is another kind of change. The people who have cared for us during our
strength and our weakness continue to hold a dear place in our “home,” but the
frequency in which we are in community dwindles down to nearly nothing as we
establish a new community who will become a refuge of strength and will house
our weakness.
Helping my mother-in-law transition from her apartment into
a new apartment, closer to us, and that has the opportunity for her to have
meals in community is one thing. Knowing
that she will be leaving her life-long faith community to join Jeff in ours at
a time when I will be leaving that faith community to move into my internship
parish brings about different emotions.
I think I am in the same period of disbelief in preparation for mourning
as she is. We skirt this topic in our
packing, perhaps because it is too raw and though we both understand that this
is just one part of this point in our lives, the reality is we are both leaving
something behind that has nourished us in more ways than we can count. She gets to join our faith community and I
hope that she will find new friends and a sense of the holy there. I get to spend nine months in another
community to learn more about my future, my style, my purpose in God’s plan and
though I’m excited, I’m also scared and sad.
I bet she feels many of those same emotions.
Dear God Above and Within, please be with those who are
making changes in their lives, whether temporary or semi-permanent. Calm nervous stomachs and open hearts to the
opportunities change can offer. In your
embrace we experience the peace beyond understanding, the hope for the future
and the love you offer each of us. Amen.