In Others’ Words: Home is where . . .

I had a certain definition of home for many years–and it was most definitely tied to a specific address. A certain place.

Then I married my husband, who was in the military.

My idea of home had to change.

Uncle Sam determined where home was – and how long a certain place would be home. The year I decorated a Christmas tree on an air base in Turkey, I realized location wasn’t the determining factor for home.

The people who were with me — even if our address was a military P.O. Box — represented home.

The stuff we lugged with us, as well as the stuff we left behind in storage?

It wasn’t home, either.

Back then, my husband, my son, my three daughters equaled home.

I’ve also discovered when home becomes people, it expands. Years later home expanded to include the unexpected blessing of a fourth child. And through the years, we learned to say, “There’s always room for one more,” whether it was a holiday or just a regular Sunday afternoon of watching football.

Seeing my adult children establish their own homes … ah, bittersweet. I’m cheering them on with tear-filled eyes, opening my arms all the wider to embrace a daughter-in-love, two sons-in-love — and now a granddaughter.

In so many ways, because of so many people God has brought into my life,  my definition of home changed through the years. Defined less and less by location … and more and more by the people God’s woven into my life.

 

In Your Words: How do you define home?

“My home is not a place; it is people.” Click to Tweet

How do you define home? Click to Tweet

When “home” becomes people, it expands. Click to Tweet