“Just know you’re not alone, because I’m going to make this place you’re home.”
-Phillip Phillips, “Home“
“I will make this place your home.” Seven little words. Seven words that are a promise. A proclamation over my life. Seven words that the Lord spoke directly over me my very first night in Thailand. Seven words that have very much defined my time here in Thailand.
From Bangkok to Mae Ai, I could feel God making my home not a place, but in Him. My home is now not a place, but in the shadow of His wings. No longer do I need my big, comfy bed, or my shower, or my favorite shampoo. My home is not found in a physical place, and it is not found in my material things.
Home is wherever Jesus has placed me because I know that I will never be alone. Because I know that He is the ultimate Protector, Care-giver, and Lord. Lord over all, and Lord over my life. Wherever Jesus is, I know that is my home.
Which is everywhere I go, because He is with me always.
This fact was illustrated perfectly in my team’s second day in Mae Ai, Thailand. (We’re not really in Mae Ai, we live in a little farming village right outside of Mae Ai). The previous day, our team had arrived in this little village, and were lead to the “house” that our ministry contact had rented for us.
Imagine our surprise when we weren’t really lead to a house.
Okay, we were lead to a house. Well, more of a shack, really. This house is made of thin wood and tin doors. Our floors are concrete, with some mats depicting fake wood floors over half of it. We have a bathroom without western toilets, but at least we have running water (but it’s only cold).
The first time we walked in, all we could see was the cobwebs covering the ceiling, and the dirt coated over the floors. The ladies on my team and I were slack jawed and just a little bit nervous.
We went to bed that night inside of our tents (to keep away from the spiders, mosquitos, and lizards,) on top of our sleeping pads with hearts full of dread for the upcoming two months. I know that some girls on my team were more nervous than others.
I for one, was excited for the next two months. And the next morning, I woke up determined to make this house into a home. I knew that I had found my home in Jesus, and so this house was already my home for the next two months.
But I wanted to make sure that the rest of my team felt at home, too.
So, we swept. We wiped down tables with rags, and cleaned our squatty potty. We hung calendars on the fridge, and signs on the walls. We covered our house in prayer and in worship. And gradually, as we began to get more comfortable and more at ease, Mae Ai started to feel like home.
We made our house into a home because we found our home in Jesus.
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