Captivated Me

I love how the concept of home evolves and expands over time.⁣
How we can find a sense of true home -⁣
A space where we are safe and known -⁣
In so many ways⁣
As we journey through life.⁣

How it includes meaningful places, yes,⁣
But not only your hometown,⁣
Also the distant paths where your feet have treaded,⁣
And where your heart has found rest⁣
Among new communities,⁣
Among unique colors and textures,⁣
Among customs not previously known to you,⁣
But integrated now into who you are⁣
Because of how much they have ⁣
So graciously⁣
Taught you.⁣

And does it not also include people?⁣
The family, the village that raised you and lifts you up,⁣
The kindred friends who run top-speed into authentic,
Whole-hearted living with you,⁣
Accepting you as you are,⁣
And encouraging you on the journey⁣
Of becoming who you were made to be.⁣
Their faces are home;⁣
Their smiles are home;⁣
Their voices are home;⁣
Their hugs are home.⁣
Their presence is -⁣
Home.⁣

And is home not an atmosphere,⁣
The feeling⁣
Of perching with a book ⁣
On the bench ⁣
By the riverside where you’ve spent hours of your life,
Breeze tickling your skin and toying with your hair,⁣
As you reflect on the joys and sorrows
Now woven into your story?⁣
Of driving down highways so familiar ⁣
That you can discern your speed without⁣
A glance at the meter;⁣
But also of marveling at the new horizons⁣
That have so shaped your heart⁣
In so short of a time?⁣
Of the cozy warmth of a coffeehouse⁣
Just down the way from your childhood street,⁣
Just as well as that which you come upon⁣
As you wander the alleys of a far off place⁣
That you never imagined visiting before?⁣
Of the rhythm and harmony ⁣
Of ocean waves as they roll along an uncharted shore;⁣
The sunrise over the stillness⁣
Of your favorite lake;⁣
Or the rustling trees that line the⁣
Mountainous ridge that ⁣
Challenges your mind,⁣
Heightens your senses,⁣
Burns -⁣
With both gentleness and power -⁣
Its grand beauty into your memory.⁣

I find myself humbled, breathless, exceedingly grateful lately,⁣
For the moments and faces and places⁣
That feel like home.⁣
And for the ways we can carry home with us -⁣
Or encounter it along the way -⁣
Wherever in the world we go.