Where the Heart is

Anytime I learn something important I tend to go to extremes. Today I find myself immersed in another lesson. I recently moved out of my home. I was sub-leasing from a friend, and been looking for another place to move to for a while now. They needed to move back in early so I decided to just put my stuff in storage and move out. No place to go, no place of my own to stay, no place to call home. All of my clothes are in suitcases in the trunk. All of my personal possessions that I kept are in storage. I am now relying on the generosity of friends and family for a place to sleep, eat, and shower. I've never been without a place of my own. But I'm starting to relate to Jesus when He said 'The son of man has nowhere to lay his head.' It's amazing how spoiled we are to places and things. A roof over our heads and the stuff under it seems so vitally important, but we forget that home is where the heart is. For most of us, our heart is in our homes and possessions. For the first week I felt displaced like I still had a place to go home too, but driving around town in my car I would realize I didn't. It took me a few days to be at peace with it. "Well, guess I'll go home now". Oh, wait - I have no home to go too. I think about the people displaced by Hurricane Katrina and how they must have felt. The homeless living under bridges or the poor living in not so pleasant neighborhoods. Ultimately it boils down to feeling safe having a roof over your head, a place to hide from the world, or a place to raise children. Everyone wants to 'give their children a good home' and that's noble enough, but it may be a disservice to not teach them what it's like to not have one. Growing up around hardcore western Christianity I noticed those who tried to paint a beautiful picture of the world to shield their children from the 'evil' outside of it. Maybe the same could be said of God in the story of Adam and Eve, creating a paradise for them to live in, but ultimately those kids rebel and strike out on their own or get kicked out of paradise to face the world you didn't want them to see. And faced with those decisions we're faced with creating a life for ourselves anyway.
This lesson is teaching me that it's not that important how nice the house is or how big the rooms are. A room where I can put a blanket down to sleep has been sufficient. And the food doesn't have to be the finest cuisine, fast food or a meal made from what's available is fine too. TV, Ipod, and the internet aren't necessary for daily survival. Clothes are not fashion statements, they keep you warm or shield you from the elements. A simple job that makes you a wage to buy food and basic necessities is more important than gathering up a huge collection of crap to fill rooms and garages. The real treasures are the other humans you meet along the way, your true friends, and family. Our accomplishments won't be determined by the size of our dwelling and our fancy cars, but what we do with what we got, and how we spent the time we're given to do it in.

To be continued...