Finding Home – Steve Orr

Please follow and like us:

Matters of the Heart includes home—After all, “Home is where the heart is.” Jesus and Shakespeare agree: Jesus’ most compelling parable was about the prodigal who left home and then returned to his father; and Shakespeare said, “Home is the most powerful word in the English language.”

Have you ever awakened from a dream about being lost? Away from home? The chances are that almost everyone reading this has. What does this mean?—You’re a normal human.

But the question remains, what’s lurking under the covers of our weird dreams? There’s a mystery to them which often touches on the supernatural, as explored in popular culture with dramas like “Lost,” a popular science fiction series with 121 episodes that captivated many. Other notables include: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Twin Peaks,” “The OA,” and “Mulholland Drive.”

Getting lost is a normal part of life. When I lived in Southern California, I needed a Thomas Guide map book of all the streets in the LA basin to find my way around. I sometimes got lost on new streets in construction zones that were not on the map. Now, I have Google Maps, which has also led me astray several times.

Getting lost around town is a minor inconvenience. But becoming “spiritually lost” touches the serious business of the heart.

Psychology says recurring dreams of being lost point to unresolved emotions or traumas that your subconscious is trying to process. Being lost in familiar places may symbolize a struggle to return to a previous version of yourself, or past relationships that soured. Anxieties about social acceptance involve being “dis-covered” naked while giving a speech.

I suppose getting therapy from psychoanalysts trying to “fix” us has its place, but I’m going to ignore this potential psycho-babble and go straight to the spiritual solution.

You are not lost! You are found in Christ Jesus!! Because he is found in you. You are the tabernacle of our triune God. Abba-Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit have taken up eternal residence in your heart. Our conflict of uncertainty is not because God has left the building. It’s because we have temporarily become disconnected from our heart, our center of being.

The Psalmist writes:

Above all else, guard your hearts, for from it flows the wellsprings of life. Keep these words in your heart, they bring life and health to one’s whole being (Proverbs 4:21-23 paraphrased).

In Jesus’ parable, the prodigal son did not guard or listen to his true heart. Instead, he wanted to get out from under his Dad’s thumb and enjoy a life of freedom, only to discover that a life of riotous living enslaved his heart. But when he returned to his senses, he followed his heart and turned for home.

Home sweet home! For me in particular, the idea of seeking home resonates deep in my heart, so please allow me a brief moment to share.

My teenage parents got pregnant first, then married, and I was their only child. It was rough going at first, but my Dad got a good job working on military bases and missile silos, which took us from Western Montana to Eastern North Dakota, through 7 cities and small towns. Next, we moved to Kansas, then Oklahoma, then ended up in the small town of Savage, Maryland.

In one year, I attended third grade in five different schools in four different states.

Mom thought it was cute how I made a little cubby hole in the boxes and blankets around the back seat of the car. She didn’t know that I was sad and hiding after leaving in the dark of night without having time to say goodbye to my best friend. We just disappeared.

My last third-grade teacher posed an interesting question that, in retrospect, I’m sure was aimed at me—the shy little kid in the corner. “Class, please tell us, what is your hometown like?” When it was my turn to share and I said that I didn’t have a hometown. Apparently, this was not a satisfactory answer. She asked me again. “Well, both of my Mom and Dad’s hometowns were in Oklahoma, so I guess those are my hometowns.”

I was still thinking about this as I walked home. As usual, Mom asked how school was. I asked, “Mom? Do I have a hometown?” Without saying a word, she bawled out loud and ran into the bedroom. After that, we stayed in Maryland until I graduated from college. Despite minor family dysfunction, I grew up to be a somewhat well-adjusted human being with a beautiful wife and three kids.

But, in some ways, I still feel like I’m looking for home. Don’t you? Some call this a “holy longing.” Home is more than just a place, it’s where our heart is. Let’s be honest, doesn’t it sometimes feel like we’re aimlessly wandering around in life? But, where do we go when we don’t even know where we are?

Have you ever asked, “God, where are you?” Or, have you pointed the finger of accusation, saying, “God, where were you when I needed you most?!”

Here’s our bedrock of truth: God hasn’t gone anywhere. You are the tabernacle of God where our Triune God dwells. God has pitched his tent in our hearts. Jesus said he will never leave us nor forsake us. Your spiritual reality is that God is closer to you than a heartbeat!

God remains in our heart where he’s always been. Sometimes, we are the ones who have left the building. When we do, we feel lost. We have an identity crisis, as C. S. Lewis so brilliantly writes in his book titled “The Great Divorce.“

Thankfully, God knows how to bring reconciliation…

We become the Bride of the Lamb and move into his house!

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:2-4 NIV).

For me, that’s all the therapy I need.

Welcome home to Matters of the Heart, where we find eternal shelter from the storms of life in the Tabernacle of God.

Steve Orr writes to us from Montana. After working in the mecca of technology, Steve traded the rat race of Silicon Valley for the adventures of High Tech in Big Sky Country. Steve has an MBA with experience in accounting, finance, technology, and management. He occasionally writes a little software code, but mostly he likes writing about Matters of the Heart.