This Is Home

The question is often posed at this time of year, "What's the best Christmas gift you've ever received?"

I'm always prone to answer that question with my relational gifts.
There was, afterall, the memorable gift of my baby brother right before Christmas when I was 3.
There was that unforgettable night (22 years ago) when my then-boyfriend asked me to marry him.
And there was that icy, glistening December day one year later when I covenanted before God, family, and friends to love, honor, and respect him for life.

But sometimes I'm pressed for a tangible gift.  And that's hard.  Because my husband is a thoughtful, fabulous gift giver.

There was, for instance, the year he gave me a bottle of Exclamation perfume---the very kind I wore when we were dating.  The fact that we'd been married quite a few years and I hadn't worn it since our dating days made it all the more special, because it said he remembered.

But the gift that tops all others came six years ago.  Through an unexpected series of events, my husband and I had been called to candidate at a large church in a large midwestern city.  We hadn't been looking to make a change, but when God brought the opportunity about, we sensed that we should at least be open to what God may be doing.  We prayed that He would use the visit to clearly guide and direct our steps.

By the end of our visit, we were offered the position. And on our faces before the Lord, we prayed and cried and sought Him.  Together we pleaded with Him to make our paths straight.  And He did just that.  Ultimately, He gave us one heart and mind in knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were serving where He had called us.  We were pursuing Him with the people to whom He had called us.  And this was where we should remain.

That Christmas, two months after our visit, Jon gave me a gift that still makes me choke up each time I see it.  Wrapped beneath layers of festive wrapping paper was a beautiful address plate for our house---640.  It was a visible reminder that we are right where God wants us to be, doing life with the people we've grown to love so deeply.  This is home.