The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming

by Sally Clarkson

Each of us longs for a place to belong, a connection that gives roots to our wandering lives. Our hearts hunger for a community where we are intimate members, a sense of belonging to people who love us. Our souls crave a purpose bigger than our jobs, a connection to a sense of meaning. We yearn to know that our own stories have significance in the grander scheme of God’s megastory. All of these may be found in home—a place to belong, a people to be a part of, and a purpose where God’s righteousness and design are celebrated and cherished in community every day.

Every meal, in other words, should be a feast for the senses and the spirit.

nothing is neutral. Nothing. You can’t just waste an hour on the Internet. You can’t just miss one sunrise in its beauty. No room is just space. No hour is meaningless. No meal is mere sustenance.

When I am not at peace, nothing in our home is at peace.

my brain and heart can be the same way—cluttered with worries, responsibilities, duties, concerns over the future, finances, time constraints, expectations, disappointments, critical attitudes, resentment. All of these added together can tend to create soul piles and mind clutter. If I don’t take the time to sort them out, my spirit becomes a mess, and my heart becomes overwhelmed and weary.