Snow this morning. We do not see a lot of snow over the past several years in Little Egypt…and it is an exciting sight. I was happy to see that my gaggle of geese have returned to my side of the Campus Lake. I find their fluid and structured movements to be Art in Motion. I often ponder as I watch nature that our human endeavors and grand plans are lost on the natural world…of which we are members…but often we do not realize our lifelong place in the magnificent structure of nature. Our animal friends function on a very clear time clock and consider their human neighbors with a bit of perplexion as to our purpose.

We are big fish in a little pond. Often we seek to baffle others with our bullshit and establish our dominance by our brilliant intellect… We of the human family are looking for our home. We are seeking the warmth of our mother’s embrace and the confident assurance of our father’s love and wisdom. We seek the unique odors of Christmas morning and the hope of the birth of Christ. We long to express that longing of love for our family and friends…and fear their response. Life brings us so many challenges that we have forgotten to just…live… Many counselors have their ideas about what we should do…but it is our life… We look for the church and the pastor to see us…and to care about us…but often their eyes are set upon those who have influence and resources and who are the movers and the shakers…

Rhythm is the heartbeat of our world. There is a beat to life and a place for us in the harmony of the song. I have an old friend who is undergoing cancer surgery today…I pray for him and his lovely family. On my first job…John’s wife and her sister drove me to Essex International in DuQuoin, Illinois. The three of us worked there in the 70s…and it seems like yesterday. I recall John and me talking about our walk as Christians and the joy on his face as he contemplated his new journey. The secret of life is understanding that the ordinary is extraordinary…

Home is our destination throughout our lives. Home calls out to us every day and every night. First, we are young and unable to care for ourselves. Then we march upon our Terra Firma with confidence and abandon for rules and regulations and the vision of achieving a place in history that will be remembered when we pass this mortal coil… We are all somewhat like Orson Wells’s character in the movie Citizen Kane….we are looking for ‘Rosebud.’

Home…where the idyllic front porch is where we sit and watch the squirrels playing on the magnolia trees…and the sweet ice tea is plentiful. Home where you are with your mom and dad under the humongous Christmas Tree in Chicago, Illinois. Home where you tell your mom and dad…just how special that they are to you…and where your hug your children close to your breast… hoping they know how much that they mean to you…

I discovered about myself that I was seeking my father’s approval well into my 30s. My dad was dead by that time…but I sought it in the eyes of my supervisors and pastors. We have an indelible image of home and what it means to us. We are returning there…on our journey back to Jerusalem…