this is the place I like
this is the person I am
this is my heart
here I breathe slow
except to quicken with surprise, delight
at His voice, His gifts
don’t tell me I can’t live here
pragmatism cannot rob me of my ideals
this is how I am made to walk this journey
anywhere else is just pretending
and pretending is not living
I invite you, yes, to visit my place
maybe even to stay awhile
but not to live
that wouldn’t be fair
to you
my prayer is you will find your place too
the one He made when He made you
you’ll know it when you’re there
and when you find it, have courage to set up house
to lay claim and to rest
in your heart’s home
and we’ll be neighbors
Yes, I hope we can share our true hearts, with Him, and with each other. Thanks, Kim.
we need each to find our own place… that's the only way we'll ever be comfortable in our own skins. thank you
can i be your neighbor? i think we'd make lovely neighbors!
especially b/cs he is home.
If one can find where they belong and be comfortable there, they have truly found a priceless gift, and to have neighbors, kindred spirits near…heaven on earth!
ah…inviting others in, and yet also inviting them to set up their own house. wonderful! also, I love the title of your blog! I found you at Imperfect Prose Thursdays!
finding that place we call home…nice…i was a wandering spirit for many years…afradi to put down roots…i think this is one of the things he has taught me in the last 5 years…
This is a really interesting perspective on a topic that touches me deeply, since my life as been so consistently rootless. It's a wonderful thing to be invited into the home. And it also must be a wonderful thing to have one's own home. But might it also be a wonderful thing when the first person's home becomes home to a wider circle? I think there's something so compelling and inspiring in communal living.
Thanks all, for your comments.
Kati, your question is thought provoking, especially in the sense of a literal home. I think we have largely lost the art of hospitality and community in our busy, crammed lives. It's something I want to recover.
The "home" I wrote of, is really me finding home in myself and in the desires of my heart. To live there with confidence in knowing it's the right place for me, who I am created to be, and to courageously put down emotional roots. It's about living consistently. Not pretending. That's why we can't share a home, but we can be neighbors. A community of heart driven people living authentically!
Kind of vague, I know. Just my thoughts in process.
friend, it seems we've been on a similar journey. and how beautifully you put it… you're a beautiful poet, and i'm loving getting to know you through the wisdom of your words. bless you, friend. e.
Thanks for your reply. I imagined that was probably a big part of what you meant, and I see your point. But at the same time, I wonder if the emotional roots can't, or shouldn't be shared as well. I certainly don't, that's for sure! So maybe it's the fact I can't that has made me set up true community on a too-high pedestal. Thanks for your words helping me think through this. I'm sure you share space and heart with many people who appreciate you greatly for it.
I like this! I suspected and Emily confirmed that I visited a taste of your home the last night I spent over there with the fire and music and rocking chair. I wish I knew more songs by heart and had brought my guitar though 🙂
Very thought provoking idea. Makes me wonder if I really know my home.
Thank you, Emily for your encouragement and for the community you have created. It is enriching my life daily! XO
Kati, to continue the analogy, I think finding "home" and deepening roots enables us to share the same freedom we're finding with others. When I am not pretending, trying to impress, but living freely and fully as God created me, I am free to see others with clarity, appreciating their uniqueness and, thereby, affirming and deepening their roots. You're making me think too. Thank you!
Joanna, that was a great night and your "5 string" guitar playing was epic 😉 You'll have to do it again with 6! Your physical home is a beautiful place. So full of your mom's sweet hospitality, laughter and all your lively siblings! Your heart's home is a beautiful place too. I can see you setting up house as you seek the Lord and explore His many gifts and purpose for your life. Love you.
Poignant. I'm on a search for who I truly am and we're on a search for a home to grow old in.
I love the way you write, Kim
thank you for your comment re my post at Emily's . I worried , I really did, and beautiful souls such as yourself made me feel so understood. And so much at home .