The Road to: Home
The Road to: Home
What does the word home evoke for you—an image, a feeling? Many would describe home as a place of security, comfort, and belonging, yet that’s not always the reality. Home can be a sanctuary, a refuge, or even a burden. For some, it’s where the heart is; for others, it’s a place they long to escape. In our search for meaning, do we sometimes seek substitute "homes"? What does that mean to you? Perhaps home is truly where you find it—so what are you seeking?
"Home is where one starts from."
—T.S. Eliot
With Mother’s Day just behind us and Father’s Day arriving, does your idea of home connect to the love of a mother or father? We often hold an idealized version of what parents should be, yet reality is often more complex. I had a fairly good childhood, but tension with my mother was a constant—especially during my teenage years! And yet, despite challenges, it was home.
As adults, where do we seek home? The answer depends on our personal definition. For some, a church home provides support, love, guidance, and community. We are blessed to experience those gifts of home here at CPC. Yet, fewer people seem to seek a spiritual home today than in decades past. Why is that? The statistics show a shift—this kind of home is less central than it was in the 1950s or 60s. But is that change positive or negative? What is your perspective?
Since this is a prayer blog, I invite you to reflect: What do you pray for when it comes to home—whether good or difficult? Is home something we create, or is it a gift from God? Does it depend on whether you’re speaking metaphorically, physically, or spiritually? Again, I ask—what is your prayer? Would you share it?
The best journey always takes us home."
—Unknown
We often think of home as a place. Yet, as the quotes above suggest, home can also signify origins—the beginning of who we are. How often have you returned from a journey, only to sigh with relief and say, “It’s so good to be home”? And how often have you endured an emotional or spiritual trial, finally finding peace and thinking, “It’s so good to be done”?
Metaphorically, home can have a deeper meaning. What journey are you on? Where are you going? Who travels with you? Why do you go? The answers shape what home means in our lives.
“Home”, a Poem by Edgar Guest
Edgar Albert Guest (1881–1959), a British-born American poet known as the People’s Poet, once wrote:
"It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home,
A heap o’ sun an’ shadder, an’ ye sometimes have t’ roam
Afore ye really ’preciate the things ye lef’ behind,
An’ hunger fer ’em somehow, with ’em allus on yer mind…"
For many, home is a physical place. But it is also emotional and spiritual—deeply formative, sometimes imperfect, but always foundational. It can be a safe haven, a source of inner peace, or a symbol of longing. Ultimately, home fulfills a universal human need: the desire to belong and feel connected.
"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;
Through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures…"
—Proverbs 24:3-4
As we turn to home as a subject of prayer, many avenues open before us. One stanza from How Great Thou Art feels fitting as we close:
"When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim, my God, how great Thou art!"
Let us give thanks for home.
Praying for you,
PB
Community Presbyterian Church (CPC) welcomes all people into God’s way of life and community.
“Community” means those we know well and those we hope to know, those sitting next to us in a pew, and those we encounter day by day. It’s large and expansivew. It’s small and intimate.
Community Presbyterian Church
32202 Del Obispo
San Juan Capistrano. CA 92675
949-493-1502
info@sjcpres.org