Casa Dulce Casa

Home Sweet Home
Riding the 34 tram home from the store this evening I saw a store with that name. It caused me to stop and think about home. Right now, there are so many different places to call home. Romania, Prague, Hutchinson, Minneapolis, Prior Lake, and Crystal all feel like home.

I'm back in my apartment in Bucharest and it's starting to feel like home again. Though in the back of my mind, I'm really aware that it's only temporary. In six weeks I'll be moving out of my apartment. Along with that awaeness comes the reminder that I don't know where I'll be living in two months. I don't know where I'll be working. I don't know what kind of car I'll be driving. I don't know...

That feels really scary. I want to have a home that feels welcoming and refreshing. I dream of the comfort of not living in the midst of unkowns. For many years, I got pretty good at ignoring what was happening within my heart. I didn't pay attention to the desires deep in my heart. It would be easy for me to try and convince myself that the desire for a home isn't one God would want me to have, but I don't think that's truth. I believe that this desire is an echo of the desire for an eternal home, for the home of a perfect environment like Eden. I believe parts of it will be fulfilled here on earth and other parts will need to wait until eternity. The desire is there and I'm choosing to recognize it and wrestle with it.

New Seasons

Spring is on the way! There's hope that winter won't last forever, even in Minnesota. This week flowers started blooming just outside my window even while the snow was still melting on the lawn. The creek that flows down the hill from my house is running quickly and is high on the banks. Spring is probably one of the most anticipated seasons, especially in locations where the ground freezes and snow piles higher during winter months.

As I was thinking about changing seasons this evening, I was reminded of the many seasons in our lives. I'm in the middle of a changing of seasons in my life. For the past eight years I've been a missionary serving in Bucharest, Romania. I've loved the learning and growing that's happened in my life. In just a few short months, that season of my life will conclude and the next season will begin. I'm still a little unsure about what this next season will look like which makes it hard to let go of the previous season. Though I'm certain this is the way God's leading, it still isn't chalenge-free.

Spring is so anticipated and we wait expectantly for warmer days, budding trees, and the appearance of green grass. We have grown comfortable anticipating the spring around us and yet I wonder if we're ever anticipating the changing of seasons in our lives. I know I'd much rather stay in the comfortable seasons of life than expectantly hoping that God will change things up and start something new. It's not encouraging to think that everything could change. I feel God challenging me to start to think differently, to be expecting change and to look for it with anticipation instead of dread. It's my hope that we would all be in places of willingness for God to move in our lives, and excited about new things beginning no matter what our current season.