October 2005 ~ Home
I should have been born in October. It is my absolutely most favorite month. My mother was born in October, but that is not why it is my favorite. Wayne and I were married in October, but that is not why it is my favorite. Halloween happens in October and Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, but that is not why the month appeals to me.
Perhaps I love October because it is the first real month of autumn. September still has summer clinging to it but October is truly fall… with cooler weather and just a hint of winter in the air. I remember the smell of October in my hometown…the smoke of leaves raked into a pile and burned, before burn permits were required. I remember the gathering of the last fruit from the trees and the last vegetables from the garden. Screens came out of the windows and an extra blanket was folded across the foot of the bed. October, then and now, is a feeling that I can best describe as homing. Homing is defined as “orienting or directing homeward or to a destination.” Spring and summer are all about getting “out.” Autumn and winter are about coming “in” and it begins with October.
Many of us have moved from here to there during our lifetime. Many of us know what it is to pack your stuff and carry it all to a new town, a new house or apartment, a new community of people. In today’s world, many people define “home” as where they are at the moment or as being with those they love. This speaks to a growing awareness that “home” is not the same as “house,” even though certain houses become very dear. A friend of mine was having a hard time finding a house when she moved to a new location. She wailed, “I have no home!” Her husband wisely said, “You have a home. You just don’t have a house to put it in!”
At a recent gathering, the subject of “home” came up and I suggested we write a collective poem by each of us completing a sentence beginning with the words “home is…” Later, I shaped the sentences into this poem.
Home is within. That’s the key, isn’t it? The key that unlocks the door to that place deep within us where God is always waiting, always warm and welcoming, always providing what we need. The writer of the 23rd Psalm was talking about the home within when he said, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over!” Jesus was talking about the home within when he said, “And when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6)
As spiritual beings having a human experience, we are equipped with a homing device, something that orients or directs us homeward, to our destination. We might not all agree about what the device is, but I believe it is prayer. Prayer is natural. And while classes and instruction can deepen our understanding about prayer and clarify our practice of prayer, prayer itself is instinctive. Its not even about faith or believing. Prayer is rooted and grounded in what we are by divine design. Everybody prays…even E.T. Everybody wants to go home.
At the beginning of this jotting, I mentioned several things that make October special for me… my mother’s birthday, Wayne’s and my anniversary… Halloween… actually, our anniversary and Halloween are one. We were married on Halloween morning! We like to joke about whether our marriage has turned out to be a trick or a treat! In fact, it was my intention to use that as my theme this month and to share some thoughts about pessimism and optimism and the glass being half empty or half full! But when I sat down to write, my fingers and my mind took off in another direction and so, here we are, ready to wrap it up with one more thought.
We often use the word “home” as a metaphor for “heaven” or the afterlife. When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his leaving, he promised them a home. He said, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2,3) While Jesus was speaking of a “dwelling place” in another realm, perhaps his words have meaning for us, right here and now. For we are always living in God’s ”great house of love,” as Wayne often calls it. And each of us has a room.
jbm
Perhaps I love October because it is the first real month of autumn. September still has summer clinging to it but October is truly fall… with cooler weather and just a hint of winter in the air. I remember the smell of October in my hometown…the smoke of leaves raked into a pile and burned, before burn permits were required. I remember the gathering of the last fruit from the trees and the last vegetables from the garden. Screens came out of the windows and an extra blanket was folded across the foot of the bed. October, then and now, is a feeling that I can best describe as homing. Homing is defined as “orienting or directing homeward or to a destination.” Spring and summer are all about getting “out.” Autumn and winter are about coming “in” and it begins with October.
Many of us have moved from here to there during our lifetime. Many of us know what it is to pack your stuff and carry it all to a new town, a new house or apartment, a new community of people. In today’s world, many people define “home” as where they are at the moment or as being with those they love. This speaks to a growing awareness that “home” is not the same as “house,” even though certain houses become very dear. A friend of mine was having a hard time finding a house when she moved to a new location. She wailed, “I have no home!” Her husband wisely said, “You have a home. You just don’t have a house to put it in!”
At a recent gathering, the subject of “home” came up and I suggested we write a collective poem by each of us completing a sentence beginning with the words “home is…” Later, I shaped the sentences into this poem.
Home is ~
Where comfort is
Where love, warmth and laughter are shared,
Where joys and sorrows are shared,
Where I am always welcome,
and I can return again and again.
Home is Love.
Home is ~
My refuge,
A place of love, laughter, harmony and joy,
Wherever my imagination takes me,
The way I feel when safety and love surround me,
enfold me, protect me and lead me to Peace.
Home is Within.
Home is within. That’s the key, isn’t it? The key that unlocks the door to that place deep within us where God is always waiting, always warm and welcoming, always providing what we need. The writer of the 23rd Psalm was talking about the home within when he said, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over!” Jesus was talking about the home within when he said, “And when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6:6)
As spiritual beings having a human experience, we are equipped with a homing device, something that orients or directs us homeward, to our destination. We might not all agree about what the device is, but I believe it is prayer. Prayer is natural. And while classes and instruction can deepen our understanding about prayer and clarify our practice of prayer, prayer itself is instinctive. Its not even about faith or believing. Prayer is rooted and grounded in what we are by divine design. Everybody prays…even E.T. Everybody wants to go home.
At the beginning of this jotting, I mentioned several things that make October special for me… my mother’s birthday, Wayne’s and my anniversary… Halloween… actually, our anniversary and Halloween are one. We were married on Halloween morning! We like to joke about whether our marriage has turned out to be a trick or a treat! In fact, it was my intention to use that as my theme this month and to share some thoughts about pessimism and optimism and the glass being half empty or half full! But when I sat down to write, my fingers and my mind took off in another direction and so, here we are, ready to wrap it up with one more thought.
We often use the word “home” as a metaphor for “heaven” or the afterlife. When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his leaving, he promised them a home. He said, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2,3) While Jesus was speaking of a “dwelling place” in another realm, perhaps his words have meaning for us, right here and now. For we are always living in God’s ”great house of love,” as Wayne often calls it. And each of us has a room.
jbm
<< Home