I don’t have a childhood home.
When I was younger, I was an Army brat, so we moved around a bit. Dad got out of the Army when I was a teenager, and we moved to his hometown. Throughout most of junior high and high school we lived in the house my brother and his family now live in. But honestly, it does not feel like my “home”. That place a lot of people have to return to that is filled with moments and memories does not exist for me. The place where you are completely safe and secure and loved does not have a physical address in my world.
I say all this not to garner sympathy, but to paint a picture. My home has always been where my family is… Initially (and still first), home is where my parents are. I will always be safe there. After going to college and meeting the man I now call a best friend, home is also wherever he and his family are. And again, after living on my own for almost a decade while teaching, home is also where certain people I had the fortune to meet along that road are (and they know who they are). My home is wherever the people I love unconditionally are… The people I call my family.
That being said, I have a new home. This month in Port Elizabeth, the people in Jerusalem Ministries and at Lighthouse Church opened their arms, their homes and their hearts to me and my team and I fell in love. I fell in love with their light, with their fire (puns intended, y’all), with their hearts, with their passion, with their desire to know and serve God, with the kids we helped teach, with the teenagers we helped minister to, with the ones who’d stay up and talk all night and with the amazing people kind enough to drive us around all month. And I’ll admit I also fell in love with their smiles and hugs. This month was about family for me and was about finding a new one here.
As you can imagine, our final few days were difficult and saying good-bye to everyone was heartbreaking on my end. I cried harder than I really wanted to; harder than I have yet on the Race… In fact, as I sit on the bus typing this, the thought has me blinking back tears again.
So… I wanted to say to everyone in PE, “Thank you!” Thank you for everything you’ve done and taught me this month. And I can’t say enough: thank you for reminding me once again what family is. That family is never limited to blood relations and that it can be found anywhere in the world, even where you least expect it.
Until next time.
P.S. Here are just a few of the wonderful people we had the pleasure of meeting through Lighthouse this month. Sorry I couldn’t post a picture of everyone!!
