A Sense of Belonging

The family home place.
Originally uploaded by apswartz.

Where do you belong? I imagine that most of us have some place we consider to be a spiritual home. It is that place we long for from time to time. It is a place where we feel we just belong. For many people it may be the home they gre up in. For others it may be a place that marked a very special time in their lives such as a college campus or a garden somewhere. For me it was my grandparents' home in Pennsylvania. It was recently sold now that my gandfather and grandmother have both died. It was a place that would satisfy that yearning within from time to time. There were places around the 50 acres on the homestead that contained wonderful and special memories for me. But now it is sold.

Tori in an Apple Tree
Originally uploaded by apswartz.

My wife went through these same feelings a few years ago when she helped her mother sell her home in Shelby, NC. It was the only home my wife knew until she graduated from college. Since then she made the mistake of marrying a Methodist Preacher whose lives seem to include the inability to form roots. Perhaps it is because we are to see ourselves as resident aliens (to borrow Willimon and Hauerwas' book title) and a theme from the book of Hebrews. But that doesn't stop the yearning for a sense of place and a sense of belonging.

One other thought that comes to mind is about burial. Where will you be laid to rest -- so to speak. Perhaps cremation with the ashes dumped somewhere will end up being the best solution.