Finding the reason to live…

I have been to places so profoundly dark, that I couldn’t see my hand, even when I waved it in front of my eyes. Because, the absence of light is darkness.

I have been in places where leaders didn’t care if I was happy or sad, so long as they had control. They didn’t care if I was dying inside, as long as I did it in silence. But the absence of care is actually cruel. The absence of love invokes fear.

I have also experienced people who believed in me, who dared to tear down the blinders which had tricked me into darkness. Because – and this is true for many of us – in the presence of those who love us and care, we find our reason to live. We find that their ‘perfect love casts out fear.’*

*1 John 4:18 / (photo by RUN 4 FFWPU: www.pexels.com)

Where is home?

We all desire home, a place where we can go back and feel we belong. We desire a place where someone has put our photo up and can’t wait to see us. Yet sometimes it isn’t the old family homestead, for there is no embrace.

God has put this aching desire for home in all our hearts. It is like that homing beacon for an airplane, or that instinctive place where a bird migrates. And we too can find belonging.

God says, “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:16) He embraces us. He adores our quirks. He has our photo up, for “your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20) He loves us.

God is our home and we will always have a place where we belong.

Photo by Wonderlane on Unsplash