'A Place Called Home'-
It's a beautiful Friday morning, and as we leave for work, my attention is drawn to a home with a beautifully manicured yard.
Immediately the thought ran through my mind...'a place called home'.
It's apparent the owners are proud of the place they call home.
Some people say, " Why go to extremes (which some people do); you can't take it with you?
To which I answer, "No, not planning to take it with me; but it's nice to have something to enjoy while I'm here."
There's several references to a place called home.
The first one to come to mind is, "There's no place like home." I have a mental picture of Dorothy, on the wizard of Oz. Even in an unconscious state, the meaning of a place called home gave her hope!
Others are, "Home is where the heart is." "A man's home is his castle." "The comforts of home..."
This one resonated with me because I had never heard it...“Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there any more.” (Robin Hobb, Fool's Fate) How true!
It's so easy to whine about the after effects of an accident, until you see a homeless man with no car, let alone a place called home.
As time marches on, it behooves us to truly appreciate what we have been blessed to have, to know, to do.
One can labor and enjoy life for 40 years, then suddenly find there isn't a place called home. It's a sad plight for the one who finds this a reality, regardless of why or how it comes to be.
Those who have never experienced such can ridicule or sneer, or even pass judgment. Especially when the recipient of loss becomes cynical or heartbroken.
A place called home is not to be taken lightly, not to be taken for granted.
A house becomes a home when love dwells therein.
Food, clothing, shelter...these are basic essentials to living...and without either, one isn't living, but simply existing.
A place called home is a coveted place. No matter how meager or how vast, the facts which constitute its validity are the presence of love, stability, consistency, maturity, intimacy, and security.
Take a look around you, at your neighborhood, your city, your state, your country.
You can see the effects of the opinions featuring the unimportance of a place called home.
A common answer to a familiar question, "Where do you live?" i.e., "Where is your place called home?"
The answer, "I stay on the other side of town," or "I stay with a friend".
Granted, the economy has dealt many a sour hand and to have a place called home isn't feasible at times.
Those are the occasions we find home is not a place, but a people.
But, for those who have lived countless years as stable, rooted individuals, the place holds significance BECAUSE of the people.
Life is truly like the seasons. Each one has a certain effect.
A child/teen who doesn't have a place called home has a difficult time growing up with a concept of such. Runaways and suicide show the instability from the lack of a place called home.
Various factors come into play. As one grows older, the nesting process becomes a priority. To have a place called home is vital to this mindset.
The workaholic is away from home so much until the value of a place called home is centered on the materialistic viewpoint, rather than the personal effects.
As a senior citizen now, my perspective of a place called home is going through a transition.
My own individual lifestyle warrants drastic measures concerning a place called home.
It's a very uncomfortable place, it seems pertinent to say the word abandon is becoming the focal point, in a way like never before.
I penned the words to this poem in 2008, when it seemed this era of
l o s s had already begun. And it continues still...
There's Nothing To Lose
There's nothing to lose when all has been lost,
There's nothing to count when there is no cost-
Life has new meaning when all becomes nil,
This only happens with death to self-will!
When does one comprehend loss is for best,
Or even that living for God is a test?
Not until pride is destroyed deep within,
It is the root that produces all sin!
Pride says there's no way to give up and lose,
Give up your life is a choice that you choose-
Yet giving up that which means most to you,
Produces a yield of something brand new!
It takes one to higher ground than before,
It changes perspective, opens a door-
That never would be, were it not for loss,
Yes, just ask the One who took up a cross!
There's so much to gain if willing you'll be,
To lose sight of self and things that you see-
Surely in losing you'll find that you win,
For God will make something of nothing again!
D. S. Mullis
Copyright ©2008
So, a place called home is turning the page, ending a chapter in life that hopefully will yield the fruit of the entire book.
For sure, eternity holds a place called home in heaven...but for now, on we go...
As I always say, "Time will tell...it always does."
D. S. Mullis
copyright(at)2016
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