Welcome Home.
It's a phrase that's said a lot around here at Relate Church. It's a comforting thought to know that you are welcome, and that you can find home here.
So then, what is home? Is home a building? Is it your address? Is it where you live with your family? The dictionary has many definitions for the word, and my favourite would have to be "any place of residence or refuge".
The word HOME could be a scary thought for some people. Maybe you didn't have the greatest home life. Perhaps when you think of home you think of anger, fights, yelling, abuse.
To me home is more than a four letter word. Home is where I belong. Where I can truly be who I am and not worry about anyone judging me for it. Home is the place where I can come in with the toughest situations and know someone has my back. Home is the place where I can come to be celebrated and encourage, and it's the place for me to encourage others.
Growing up, home was always my happy place. I grew up with a single mom who worked so hard to make life happen. I remember every home we lived in form a young age, although they were all different, they did all have one common thread. Home was who I was with, home was safe, home was the best. My mom and I moved to Surrey from the Okanogan when I was really young, and most of her family (pretty much all actually) are still there. With our family being so far away, it sometimes felt lonely; but we were all able to find family in other places. We created family at church. The church we were going to at the time had so many amazing families that sort of adopted us into their families and suddenly, it didn't feel so lonely.
Church became a place where I belong, a place where I could do what I wanted. Where I was loved, where I was welcome. Church became Home. Church became FAMILY. Relate Church is my home. I am protective of my home and even more so of my family.
Psalms 68:6 says, "God sets the lonely in families".
How true was this for our life. We were placed in families, and not just one specific family, but THE family. God's family. I love that no matter where we are, or how lonely we feel, we ALWAYS belong.
TAELOR ELVERUM
