Making a Place a Home

By Rev. Ethan Brown

Pastor and Minister of Care & Discipleship

As we pulled out of our driveway from our house in Virginia for the last time, I said a brief prayer of thanks for the blessing of a good home. A second prayer of gratitude quickly followed as the radio described the traffic along my former commute that I would no longer have to endure. Our trip south to Macon was extensively planned by Caitlin and Google Maps to include three National Park visits - one that required an hour detour - and a lovely night with some friends from our days at Mercer. I found the trip to be mostly peaceful and pleasant, but admittedly I was in the car with our dog, Ellie, and two dozen silent plants while Caitlin played chauffeur to a toddler. We have now been in Macon for four days with a new house full of boxes, most of our stuff having survived the move, and grand visions of painting every surface (more Caitlin than Ethan). Within the first 30 hours we had been to IVP twice, urgent care and Buc-ee's once each, and an untold number of visits to Home Depot and Kroger. We are trying to learn our way around the city again and getting lost a bit along the way (more Ethan than Caitlin).

I sometimes wonder about the detours that Abraham must have taken from Ur to Canaan, though they aren’t mentioned, and all who travel can be grateful not to endure the wandering path of the Israelites. The Gospels, too, are full of detours and surprises as Jesus journeyed to the cross. The journey of faith is to find our home in God. Making a place home is convoluted with detours, backroads, and friends, getting lost, and going out of the way. This new home will have some of the things you started with, but certainly not all, and the people you care about in abundance. We have found this last point to be true already here in Macon whether by being closer to our parents, having more time with our son, our yard being cleaned before we moved in, or the abundant messages from our Highland Hills community welcoming us and offering help getting set up or dinner while we are still finding our dishes. We are excited to be church together on this journey of life and faith wherever God may lead us. We are excited to be at home with you all.