What makes a House into a Home?
Everyone wants to know – not just superficially, but somewhere deep in the center of their being – that they are home. Whether you are old or young, sick or healthy, of eastern or western culture, every soul on this earth is born with a deep conviction to feel a sense of home. I would argue, it is one of the most fundamental desires of the human heart – to know on a primal level that you are safe, protected, and “home.”
This desire manifests itself differently at various walks of life. A single person living alone, someone living with friends and family, perhaps a married person or a religious living in community will all sense this desire differently; yet, it is no less profound for any of them. For most people, their earliest concept of “home” is connected to their immediate family and their memories of childhood. Upon reaching adulthood however, the desire can feel a little more abstract – difficult to identify, much less understand.
WHAT TURNS A “PLACE” INTO A “HOME”?
As a wife and mother, this is a question that I feel the Lord has deliberately placed on my heart in order to promote growth. After much wrestling, I have come up with three qualifications, if you will, which will hopefully help in discernment of this concept of “home.” As Christians, it is a crucial concept to understand, not just for the purpose of creating it in our own living environments, but also for evangelization. At our core, Christ wants each and every one of us to know that when we embrace Him fully, we are indeed “home.” It may not seem like it at first glance, but these three qualifications are possible for any individual to possess, regardless of social standing or financial situation.
A “HOME” IS A PLACE WHERE:
1) the Triune God and the Blessed Mother have been made welcome and been given a place of honor.
2) you are surrounded by family and/or friends.
3) you can minister to the children God has entrusted to you, welcoming them home.
Before we were conceived by an act of love between our biological parents, we were a divine inspiration in the mind of our Heavenly Father. Before we were members of our biological families, we were (and are) all members of a royal family. With God as Father, Mary as Blessed Mother, Jesus Christ as brother – who loves us all to the point of death – and Holy Spirit who woos us like a lover and penetrates our souls with the fire of love, it is a core desire of our beings to recognize our membership in this royal family. Not only that, our identities demand that we embrace our divine son-ship and daughter-ship in this royal family!
This needs to be recognized as a reality on this side of Heaven, as well as the next. Would you not want a special place reserved for your father and mother in your home? If we are to accept our positions in this divine family, we must have a place of honor in our homes – a home shrine of sorts – reserved for the purpose of reminding our souls that our family is present.
This family is as broad as the skies and deep as the ocean! Whether you live with only your spiritual family, in the dwelling of your youth with parents, with friends (who are your brothers and sisters in the royal family), with your married spouse, or within a religious community, each of these places can become a “home.” It can only become so if the family members – both spiritual and temporal – are made welcome.
Home is lastly a place where we can “go forth” and make the children God has placed in our care feel welcome. This does not have to be merely biological children, but any individual God has sent your way. For women, this role may manifest itself most naturally on a nurturing or educational level. Men may feel most able to “welcome” through leadership or protecting those entrusted to them. Whether they are your own biological children, the neighbor next door, a friend who needed to talk, or a struggling student in your classroom, God has given us a primary role to welcome His children “home.” When we are able to share life and love with these people, the Scriptures tell us that He is in our midst and we are truly “home.”
Ultimately, this concept of “home” comes down to owning our spiritual childhood. When we are able to do that, we embrace our identity as God’s children and our membership in the royal family. However, it doesn’t stop there. We must live every day intentionally, making decisions fitting of a royal. Our “home shrines” and/or the people you live with can serve as a reminder of your identity as a child of God and your role to serve those family members placed in your care: all rooted solidly in that warm, protected sense that we are home.
