Home

I have called many places "home" in my life.

My family has never moved. They are still living in the same house I was brought home to as a newborn. Having called that place home for 18 years of life definitely puts it pretty permanently in the "home" category. Yet, as I have grown older and started living my life, that home has become more of a memory, a nostalgic place of childhood.

College wasn't quite "home" for awhile. Living in dorms gives off the feeling of the temporary. I lived in a dorm room for 3 years, as a freshman, and as an RA for the next two. Senior year was a surprise blessing. Living with women who know me better than I know myself. Women who were foundational to my growth as a Christian and as a human being in general. Women who I miss deeply. Women who managed to make a college lifestyle feel like home. Leaving campus last year was harder than I ever expected it to be. College became a place of fellowship, a place where God had shaped and changed me, the place that I see in my mind as I think of those who are dearest to me.

Between the college years I spent my summers serving in different places. First was camp. Camp will always be home. On any given day when I'm near some trees with the sun shining and the wind blowing just right, I can close my eyes and see that mountaintop. I can remember sitting on the logs around the campfires, singing praises, loving campers, learning some of the most valuable lessons of my life. I still miss camp. It was hard moving on from that place. I still get excited when I get to return, even for a visit.

One summer, God called me away from the home and restful refuge I had found from camp. He called me to a place that would stretch me and change the course of my life. He called me to a little town in the middle of Jamaica. Harmons. I have never met with God like I have in the small valley between the mountains of that island. Seeing Him in children running and playing in clothes soiled by the red, bauxite dirt. Hearing Him in conversations with the people there. Experiencing Him in the teams who came to serve. Listening to Him on the top of the mountain. Resting in Him at the edge of the bright, blue, clear ocean. Jamaica and the people of Harmons Valley will always hold a place in my heart.

And then I graduated. And then I moved to New Jersey. Those who knew me well last year knew how much I did NOT want to come to NJ... this place was far from my expected placement, completely in the wrong direction that I was imagining my future. But God called, and so I followed His voice.

Living in Newark. Teaching in Newark. Being in Newark. The stress, the hopeless feeling, the city noises... While living with two wonderful roomates who were going through the same struggles of being a first year teacher in an innercity school, I continued to remind myself that I only had to be there for two years. But then a light shined about 25 minutes down the NJ Turnpike in the community of Jacob's Well. God reminded me of His joy, peace, and hope. He used this new family to strengthen and encourage me. Year one ended.

And that brings us up to now. Last night at 12:30am, I carried the last of my belongings into my new apartment with two amazing ladies whom I love so much. After a stressful few days of moving, yet filled with the blessings of friends who were willing to serve and carry heavy things for me, I finally got to sleep in my own bed in my new room. And right before I fell asleep, it hit me. This is home.

So this morning, as I woke up still tired (it's been awhile since I've been woken up by birds singing... usually it's trains, trucks, or sirens) I was completely overwhelmed with thankfulness. I am so grateful and filled with joy at this new place to do every day ministry and these new apartment-mates who have already encouraged and loved me.

This summer is going to be nuts. I am getting the opportunity to visit the many homes that I've had throughout my life... but what excites me the most and fills me with peace, is knowing that after all my summer travels, I will have this place to come home to.