Advent Midweek Reflection, Week Two - Home as an Adult

This is the outline of the reflection I shared at last week's Advent midweek Vespers service. As one might expect, this outline does not contain exactly the words that were spoken, but it's pretty close.

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Before the reflection, the following was read:

Jesus is worthy of more glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

     ~ Hebrews 3:3-4

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nine hundred square feet, give or take

an infant, a toddler, a mom, and a dad
moved in to nine hundred square feet, give or take

apparently, at that time, I was an adult
and I moved into an adult home

here’s what I (think I) know

when I was old enough to be an adult
I knew that I could decide
that I could have Captain Crunch for breakfast
and a Snickers bar for dinner
Every.
Single.
Day.

I realized that I was actually an adult
when I found myself knowing where to find the
main water shut-off & the breaker box
when I found myself buying toilet paper & butter
before I needed it

At least those are some of the markers

there are others that, in my experience
create an adult home

with the help of my older child
I added approximately 25 square feet
to the 900 we were living in

well, a toddler and I built a 5 foot by 5 foot playhouse
out in the back yard
a playhouse that moved with us
out of the 900 square feet
into a much larger house
into a parsonage, originally built to house five kids and two parents
in which we had way more room than we’d imagined
we added to that house,
a trampoline
family friends
and neighborhood kids

thing is, though,
nine hundred square feet isn’t too small
and five thousand square feet isn’t too big
for a couple kids and their dad to
wrestle
trade tickles
cook and eat together
read books … so many books
decorate for Christmas
and experience the joy of the excitement
that wells up when the other returns home

Then, when we moved again
I realized that 900 square feet isn't home
that 5000 square feet isn't home

Home, instead, is what happens in the interactions
maybe within those square feet, maybe not

Home is the place, or condition
or community
or family
or reality
in which we feel cared for
safe,
and loved.