If Home is Where Your Heart is...

We have all heard the popular saying, "Home is where your heart is." I have most certainly found this to be true in my everyday life. My heart at one time was with a bunch of rowdy preschoolers in a small classroom in the middle of downtown Longview, Texas. My heart was with my mom and my dad and my grandparents and my family of friends, and so many other familiar things found only in the United States. 

I love being a preschool teacher. I love working in Longview, Texas. I loved my mom, my dad, my grandparents. I love my friends. I love Chick-fil-A, KVNE, sweet tea, lemonade, salad, laundry that is dry in less than three days,  the mall, scented laundry detergent and fabric softener, electricity that works 98% of the time without fail, fast wifi connection speeds, The Church at West Mountain, and oh how this list could go on and on. I love these things, you're right about that, I do love them. However, my question is now this; what if loving these things is keeping me from achieving greater things? What if I held on so tightly to these things that I can't grab on to the things God is offering to me? 

I am here tonight thinking about this saying and how different my perspective has become as I have been here in Kenya. Home is where the heart is, I can't argue with that statement. I can only find myself questioning. What makes a place your home? Is it the people you share it with? Is it the experiences you have there? Is it a feeling that you belong and have a purpose in being there? All of these things are true about a place feeling like home. Have you ever walked in a church and just instantly felt that peace and comfort come over you? That is how I feel every time I walk in The Church at West Mountain. I feel comfortable and safe there. I feel happy and overwhelmed and excited and loved.  What is it about a place that draws your heart there and makes it feel like it belongs? Is it the people?  A scent or something else that triggers fond memories? My heart is being drawn in new and amazing ways. The longer I am here, the more certain I become that my heart is being drawn to this country and these people for a reason. A reason bigger than I can fully comprehend at this point in time. For now the question becomes, what am I going to do with what I can comprehend? To sit and do nothing would be an absolute waste of the potential God has placed within me. To act on what i can comprehend is going to require an enormous step of faith. 

God has chosen me to be here at this time to fulfill His purpose for me. Whatever this season of life holds for me, I don't want to be held back because I am clinging too tightly to the things that are familiar. Do I miss things about being  at home? You bet. I miss fellowship with my church family. I miss playing my flute. I miss hanging out with my friends. I miss seeing my friends' precious little ones that won't be so little when I get home. I miss laundry that is dry the same day you wash it. I miss having a grill in the backyard. I miss starry night skies (it has been cloudy every night I have attempted to go and look at the stars so far here in Kenya). Please hear my heart when I say this, as much as I miss those things, I am ready to give them up for the chance at experiencing God's best for my life. Yes, you heard me correctly. I am ready and willing to give up everything that is familiar to me and journey forward into this new phase of life and a new place to call home. This is a scary and uncertain place for me at this point in time. I've not been so bold as to admit this is what I am thinking to anyone other than that one special guy that God has chosen to bless me with as well. He is the one that knows my heart and understands how I really feel about all of this. The reason he knows and understands so well is because he feels the exact same way. Don't sit there and assume that he is the only reason I am feeling the way I am. He isn't the main reason I feel this way. The people here in Kenya have affected me forever. They have changed my perspective on a lot of things and there is no going back to old ways of thinking. 

So if home is where you heart is, then where do you call home? The truth of it is this, no matter where we call home, the people we share it with and the experiences we have there together are what make it special. Take some time today to think about where your heart is and if that is truly the place that God has called you to be about His business. Because if you really stop and think about it, our hearts should be focused on Heaven and making sure that people around us know about the saving love of a Father that wants to see us one day when we finally make it home where we belong. 

Hug someone special and make some memories with them! I know that is what I am going to be doing for the next month and a half, until my time is up here for this season and I return to the United States to begin the next phase of my journey. 

Until next time,
Melody