By: Brittany Fiscus-van Rossum
Psalm 23
Reflection—v. 23 ‘…and I will dwell in the house of the Lord’
What does it mean to make someplace a home? This past fall my family and I purchased and moved into our first home, but oddly enough, my new residence isn’t the first place that comes to mind when I think of the home I’ve made here for myself and my family. I think of my community and how they have taught me to read the Bible in ways I couldn’t perceive before. I think of how the moment my daughter bursts into the room where we worship and eat together multiple voices shout out reminders about her peanut-allergy and stash nut products away so no harm comes to her. I think of the people with whom I can be angry and disappointed and joyful and silly and my whole beloved-broken self, knowing that there’s no judgment because they’re beloved and broken too and I am not alone. Being in community isn’t always so wistfully blissful, but it does remind me of what God desires for us: home. God desires for us, pursues for us, a place to rest our heads at night that offers shelter and security and the dignity we all deserve. But in addition to the physical shelter that is so essential, God also desires for each of us places of security where we know we can come and be ourselves, embraced for our full humanity, not told to move along, but told to sit and rest awhile because we belong here. The church can be that place—let’s make a home for one another right here.
Prayer Let us dwell with you, O Lord, and lead us into safe spaces where we can be ourselves and know that we are loved.