July 5th

Looking back on my life, I realize that there are a number of places I have called “home.” Some of those places are very familiar, some not so. The first house I really remember as being home is mostly a vague memory. The first home I had a hand in choosing I remember much more vividly. There are a couple of places Lois and I called home that are just placeholders, they were so unremarkable, while others stand out in my mind not just because of their condition and location, but because of the wonderful things that happened there. Of all the places I have lived, however, none here in Canada have the same pull on my heart that one small town in Italy does. Maniago, the small bustling place my mother and father called home when they were children, the place where they grew up, the place where they met, the place from which they eventually departed for their great adventure in Canada, is the place that I feel is my heart’s true home.
Maybe it’s the consistency. I spent quite a number of summers there, visiting with all my relatives, and somehow, it seemed as if things never changed. They lived in the same homes, they did the same things, they were always the same people, and I was always welcomed warmly and made to feel at home. Maybe it’s the mere fact that Maniago holds pretty much all of my immediate family. With no siblings, all of my roots are in Italy, a truth that binds me to that place as no place in Canada does. That’s not to say I don’t feel at home here. I love my family, both immediate and extended, and I love Canada, in all its Chatham flatness and Vancouver Island bumpiness. Yet for all that I love Canada, there is something even more special about Italy, where my family has its roots, and where I find such a warm and consistent welcome.
It think all of us have such a location in mind. As you read this, you’re probably calling to mind your own special spot, that spot that is your souls’ true place, that spot that carries meaning and depth and connection like no other place in the world. And I think that all of us have an even deeper sense of a place beyond all places where we will one day find a greater welcome and connection than in any place on earth. Call it heaven, paradise, or what you will, but there is a place of joy and fulfillment, a place of contentment and completion, a place that transcends any human built home. It is a place promised by God to His faithful followers, a place being prepared for us even as I write and as you read this reflection.
For now that place is just a dream, a spot in our hearts that is longing to be filled. In the meantime, we can get a sense of our future home by living today what we hope we will find tomorrow. If we glorify God, if we celebrate our neighbours, if we pray, praise and serve without ceasing, if we do our best to live Godly, Spirit-inspired, Christ-like lives our time on earth will give us a sense of what it will be like in our heavenly home. Of course, the place God has assigned for us will be infinitely better than anything we can find here on earth, but I think it’s well worth the effort to get even the tiniest taste of what is yet to come by living today what we expect for tomorrow. At least that’s the way I see it.