Things were so normal that as we would drive in on Davis Road and round the bend to the large white sign, Mal would exclaim, "Mama! We're home!"
My heart would sink just a bit.
She didn't know that this wasn't home to the rest of us. Home to us was Texas. For her though, this was the first place she recognized as the place we would always come to at the end of the day...where her stuffed animals and favorite pillow waited for her. The place she would lay her head at night and have breakfast in the morning.
Mal's recollections--of what Mo now calls "the yellow house"--would be nonexistent. She's just too young to remember the only place her siblings called once called home.
As a child, I remember the times we moved, but there were some consistencies: my dad, mom and brother. Regardless of the things that filled the boxes, or the address on the mailbox, those three people remained. We were home when we were together, whatever the zip code.
Now in what has become our transient lifestyle...as we settle into our fourth place to land within nine months...has made us question hard: where or what is home? Is it the building? Is it the "stuff" inside the building that makes a home?
Our conclusion for now? Home is us. The places we go and live, the stuff we have, the buildings we stay in will more than likely be temporary, but the five of us? We were uniquely brought together by the Maker and Creator Himself. He has bound us together as family.
Without these four...my home just wouldn't be the same.
AGH! TEARS!!! (Seriously. I'm crying right now.) I totally agree. When we first joined Wycliffe, that was my realization. We no longer have a home. WE are home. Come what may, the five of us are going to brave it together. And that togetherness is one of the only things that matters.
ReplyDeleteThere are sure to be ups and downs... but hang in there. You'll arrive at Ukarumpa to a different family of Brewers. Who knows... maybe we'll become like extended relatives. :)