I came home today. When I say I came home, I mean that I actually drove to my hometown, where I grew up. It is a good four hour plus drive. I had lots of time to think. The closer I got to home the richer my thoughts became. I even thought about the prodigal son making the long trek home. I wondered if his thoughts became richer, as he got closer to home. But you know that they say: You can’t go home. I think I know what that means, but I am not sure…

I think it means that hometowns change. People change, and so formative relationships with running buddies from the old neighborhood are not quite the same. Families move away and new people take up residency where close friends once resided. The old restaurants where I took my first dates, as a 16 year old, are long gone. The car wash that served as my first place of employment has been torn down. The assistant principal who provided a place for me in ISS (In School Suspension) is deceased now. Even the Dairy Queen is gone. How many cherry cokes did we buy there? So…you can’t go home. It is not the same.

I came home today. I actually drove by my old house today, where I grew up. You know they say: Home is where the heart is…I sold that house in 1991, after my mother’s death. But that house is still home. It will always be home. There are many cherished memories that reside in the depths of those walls. My mother cooked wonderful meals for all of my friends and me. I held my niece in that home, when she was born. I brought my fiancé home to meet my family in that home. I said my final words to my father, prior to his unexpected death in 1978, on the driveway of that home. I grew up in that home. A part of my heart still resides there.

I came home today. I spent the evening with cherished friends. Later today I will attend a funeral service in a community not far from here. I will see people at that service that I only interact with on rare occasions. It will be a treat to see each of them.

This trip has reminded me that home is where God is present. God was present in the lives of the people I knew here many years ago. In fact, God was actively working in the lives of a lot of people here back in the day…As I drive by different landmarks, I thought of the people from home who profoundly impacted my life. I also gave thanks for those that reside here, who continue to shape me.

Perhaps at some level we really can go home then, because God’s presence is an ongoing reality. Home is where the heart is, and I want my heart to be in the presence of God…I am thinking about the prodigal son tonight. He found himself in a distant country, far away from home. He chose to go home. He wanted to be in the presence of his Father. I too want to be in the presence of the Heavenly Father. I came home today…