My mom is coming out to see me this Friday . . . she'll be here for just under a week. So pumped - I love my mom so much. From her reserves of strength that I'm sure she doesn't think exist to her quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) convictions on Who God is and what He is up to, to her ability to speak peace into my chaos, she is wonderful.
My buddy Mike and I had a conversation a few months ago about the theology of place - we were talking about a potential trip to Israel. Though I may be taking liberties with the idea, it got me thinking about just how significant geography is to me, how certain places carry a sense of weightiness because of the significance of what has happened there.
Southern Ontario, for the most part, is a place of shattered dreams and brokenness to me, and so though I spent my formative years there, I am loath to call it home. Calgary is home now due to the fact that I live here, but other than a handful of people who mean the world to me and provide a reason to stay, it's not really home. Owen Sound IS home, as my family is there, but I haven't been for longer than 3 months over the past 5 years.
People make a place home for me. Mike and Trish, Bella, Elena and Eden, Dayna and Asher, Trev and Rachel - these are friends so close they are family. Mom, Kara and Byron, Annalies, Erika . . . they make Owen Sound seem like home whenever I am there.
But for all the depth of human connection, I find my heart yearning for a place that has never been yet, only promised. Some days feel like Superman pining for Krypton - "a home I'll never see". Other days are so transcendent I feel I'm already there.
Until then, I find my home in the hearts of those who I've come to know and love, cherish and treasure, wherever they may be on God's green earth - soon to be restored.
"(Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.... (people of faith) only saw (God's promises) and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:10, 13-16
ReplyDeleteI hope your mom's visit is a time of reconnection and encouragement, laughter and edification. May it be better than you have planned and exactly what you need it to be.
Hey Greg,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts and, though you may not know, I read your blog =)
My heart too yearns for a place I've never been to yet and one that is only promised - and some days I experience a glimmer of it.
We miss our fellowship with you. Hope you're well and that your time spent with your mom (I'm so happy for that, btw) is fruitful for you! Hope we can reconnect sometime in the near future.