<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Home.\u00a0 <\/span>I find this to be a beautiful word, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 <\/span>It conjures up such feelings of comfort.<\/p>\n What makes a house a home?\u00a0 <\/span>Certainly these two words differ.\u00a0 <\/span>A house has four walls and rooms between them.\u00a0 <\/span>But a home has heart in it.\u00a0 <\/span>It could be just a humble place to rest your head, but for it to really feel like home, there needs to be a sense of safety.\u00a0 <\/span>To really increase the feeling of hominess, there might also be delectable aromas of cooking food, or the eager, tail-wagging greeting of a dog, or, best of all, the presence of family or friends who are deeply loved.<\/p>\n As many of you know, I\u2019ve been kind of betwixt and between homes for the last few months.\u00a0 <\/span>It was a tiny bit unsettling to not have a semi-permanent place to rest my head.\u00a0 <\/span>But now\u2026 sweet relief, I hit the Home jackpot.\u00a0 <\/span>It feels infinitely worth it to have stayed in ten different places in the last five months if I can now live in this lovely, lovely home.\u00a0 <\/span>(By the way, the ten different places include motel rooms when I traveled, emergency overnights, and one lovely dog-sitting opportunity.)<\/p>\n Part of what makes this \u201cnew\u201d home so special is the person I share it with.\u00a0 <\/span>Neala was referred to me by someone on Facebook.\u00a0 <\/span>She was living in a different country, but she felt very drawn to the tiny town in which I currently live.\u00a0 <\/span>So, Neala and I sent each other a couple emails and then spoke on the phone.\u00a0 <\/span>We both had a clear feeling that the other was safe and suitable and possibly even \u201cmeant to be.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>We have similar spiritual beliefs, similar positive energy, and the same desire for and ability to clearly communicate.\u00a0 <\/span>We are so grateful for one another.<\/p>\n This particular home we now live in came furnished.\u00a0 <\/span>It was furnished by a woman with wonderful taste and included beautiful furniture and an extensive collection of artwork and fine crafts.\u00a0 <\/span>Neala obtained permission for us to clear out some of the furnishings so that we could \u201cmake this place our own.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>How fun it was to choose what we loved best and put the rest aside for the owner to pick up later (now two days ago.)\u00a0 <\/span>How fun it was to rearrange furniture and paintings and create little altars everywhere.\u00a0 <\/span>We look around our home each day and we feel extraordinarily blessed.<\/p>\n But it is equally true that I am infinitely blessed to have had many homes away from home.\u00a0 <\/span>When a strange man pounded on my door one evening a couple months ago claiming that someone was chasing him with an axe, I quickly sought out friends to stay with.\u00a0 <\/span>Bless Gary and bless Ann and her husband, Dave, for each giving me a room in which to stay for a few days!<\/p>\n And when I traveled down to New Mexico to work for a few days last month, bless Lauri for opening her sweet home to me.\u00a0 <\/span>And when I came to stay with my parents for a couple weeks, bless my niece, Sarah, for creating such a great room for me, pulling in beloved pieces of furniture from storage and even hanging my own art upon the walls.\u00a0 <\/span>And when on that same trip I needed a small break from the duties of parental caregiving, my friend, Edie, opened her home to me.<\/p>\n Years ago, when I parted from my husband, my dear friend, Julia, opened wide her arms and her home.\u00a0 <\/span>Ten years later when I tearfully left another relationship and home, Barbara opened her home to me.\u00a0 <\/span>Three years ago when I was on the verge of burnout and breakdown from full-time caring of my parents, my friends, Mike and Judy, opened their home to me.\u00a0 <\/span>Two years ago, when I was healing from the shock of a breast cancer diagnosis, Barbara and Phil opened their home and their hearts to me.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n Last year when I was considering returning to the Southwest, I was blessed to be welcomed into the home of Heidi and Deanna for a few weeks. And in March, when I finally moved to this beautiful remote mountain town, Cindy spent weeks clearing out her things, painting walls, and moving in beautiful furniture so that I could have a sweet room of my own when I arrived.<\/p>\n I am so grateful for my new home, but perhaps even more importantly, I am incredibly comforted by the knowledge that should I ever lose my home or have the need to live elsewhere, there are dear friends in this world who would very willingly share their home with me.\u00a0 <\/span>I am so blessed.<\/p>\n Thank you for the blessing of Home, even when it\u2019s away from Home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Home.\u00a0 I find this to be a beautiful word, don\u2019t you?\u00a0 It conjures up such feelings of comfort. What makes a house a home?\u00a0 Certainly these two words differ.\u00a0 A house has four walls and rooms between them.\u00a0 But a home has heart in it.\u00a0 It could be just a humble place to rest your…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":553,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,27,131,44,132,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blessings","category-changes","category-comfort","category-friends","category-home","category-sweetness"],"yoast_head":"\n