Home for the Holidays

This time of year can bring with it such a mix of emotions. Moments of joy and anticipation can be happen right alongside moments of sadness and grief. I am such a creature of habit, such a lover of tradition, and for me, when things shift a bit and traditions have to transition to fit, it can throw me for a loop.

Which is why a few years ago, when my 95-year-old grandmother asked me to write a poem for her Christmas card that year, the Lord challenged me to think about and focus on home — not so much as a physical structure, but as a heart posture.

So that's what I did, and this poem is what took shape as God also transformed my heart. He reminded me that in those moments of joy and anticipation, and in those moments of sadness and grief, He is there. In the midst of it all, He is the reason for it all, and we can find home and always come home no matter how far we roam.

No matter where you find yourself (physically) this holiday season, and regardless of where your heart is (emotionally) as Christmas approaches, you can come home and are always welcome home (spiritually).

The whole reason Christmas exists is because God loves you so much that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to make a way home for you now and forever. If that thought tugs at your heart and makes you feel a little homesick today, maybe it’s time to come home.

There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays

There’s no place like home

For the holidays

Especially when we’re scattered

All over the place

So my prayer for us all

This time each year

Is to treasure home

As we all draw near

Near to the Savior

Who drew near to you and me

And near to family and friends

Regardless of proximity

Home is far more

Than a mere dwelling place

It’s where the heart is

a treasured, sacred space

So let’s treasure home

Both near and far

And make our home

Right where we are

By loving God

Who loved us first

And loving others

Even at their worst

This is the Gospel

The greatest gift, the best news

It keeps us home

Keeps us grounded and true

And since it is better

To give than to receive

Let’s give others the gift of home

By living what we believe

And we’ll experience home

Like never before

This Christmas and beyond

Simply by loving even more

There’s no place like home

For the holidays

So make Christ your home

Now and always