Home

I will probably always call Grove City, Ohio "home". This is where I run into my cousins in the store and know the buildings by the names of what they were twenty years ago. This is where I know the stories in the cemetery and am known as "Ike and Shelah's daughter."

We are "home" for a couple of weeks with some nasty jet lag (we want to sleep from 3-5 pm and stay awake from 3-5 am) and we are freezing our booties off. I knew we were in trouble on our last day in Malaysia when the kids were swimming in the 80 degree pool and jumped out because it was too cold. These are children who will jump into 50 degree water when the air temperature hits 70.

Folks in Malaysia were shocked that we live so far away from family. We love living in Alaska and I don't think my allergies would ever allow me to live in the Midwest again, but there are times that I wonder about what makes a place your home.

I don't know the answer to that. It seems like it has something to do with the place where you are known, a place where you can have adventures, and a place where you are loved. The longing for home is a definite theme through scripture. Establishing a home can be hard in the transient and isolated culture that we have become.

One of the videos we watched in preparation for sabbatical was about how the church needs to cross cultures and one of the most controversial episodes was the one about staying put. The video bid us to stay where we are and invest in the community where we live instead of always longing for the next great place. Something to think about.

Being away has definitely given us a new perspective and appreciation for our homes and our communities in Juneau, in Ohio, and in the USA.