By Ginny (MAD21)
Home: The place in which one's domestic affections are centered.
We've all heard the saying: "Home is where your heart is." But what does that mean, really? I currently live in Maryland, but I have always considered my "home" to be in Idaho because that's where I grew up, I said for years it was where my heart was. But honestly, my heart is wherever my husband and kids are. So I ask myself, since they are here, does that make my home in Maryland? I still won't concede.
I lived in seven different dwellings before I got married. I loved the little house I rented in the years just before I got married. It had so much character and potential. I had a lot of good memories there. I bought my first house with my husband just before we got married, we've been in that same house ever since. It's the longest I've ever lived in one place, 11 years. It feels odd at times, especially since a lot of our furniture has also been in the same location since we moved in, too. So since we own this home, and it's where I've lived the longest, does that make it home?
It calls to you.
Perhaps our general definitions of home are a bit shallow. It has to be more than where you currently have an address and more than just where you sleep or keep your belongings, or even where you grew up. I believe "home" is a place that calls to you. It's a longing or desire to be somewhere or with someone. A place where you are surrounded my memories and feel secure. A place where you are loved and wanted.
I wondered what my girls thought about what made a house a home. I love their innocence, honesty and how great their perspectives usually are (and often times how hilarious their answers are). So I asked them what they thought "home" was. Here is the condensed version of what they said:
Oldest (seven): "A home is comfortable. Your safe. It's someplace where you live and where you have neighbors who like to play at your house. Home is a place where I can be with my family and play with my toys, and I can hang my pictures on my wall. This house is special because it's my home. I feel loved when I am home."
Youngest (five): "It means your at home. You have furniture and you have things that are important to you like your animals and your bed, and when you have a party with your friends. You can also come home to rest when you are tired, like the playground or the beach on vacation."
As I listened to my girls talk about what their home meant to them, I couldn't help but think how different the answers would be for a lot of the kids I've worked with over the years. Some from broken homes, mixed families, abusive situations, no home at all, no family, the list goes on and on. I thought about how truly blessed our girls are, and I prayed that one day soon they would realize the value of the home and family they have. One of the many struggles as a parent: How do you give your children the home you dream for them, while teaching them not to take it for granted? I'm still working on that, daily.
If you have spent much time around this blog, you know we believe that family is the foundation for everything. It's God's design. Just about every lesson you need to learn in life, you can learn in a family environment. Very few, if anything, in life calls to you like family does. Why do we all work so hard? What are we most passionate about and why? I'm pretty sure if you talked long enough about questions like these, they would all end up at the same answer: family. That's what home is. It's not so much a place as it is a calling, a longing to be where you love and are loved.
Don't let the world deceive you. As wonderful as it is to have the best job, great income, the perfect house, the newest car, dream vacations and everything at your fingertips, none of it's worth anything if you don't have someone to share it with. So as you build your professional life, be sure not to lose site of your life at home. Because, as it turns out, home IS where your heart is.
"I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles. " (Zig Ziglar)
This post is a participant in a blog carnival over at Peter Pollock's place.
After you finish here, be sure to go and check out what everyone else wrote on: Home.