Coming Home

I recently visited the Jimmy Carter Center while attending a conference in Atlanta.  I like Presidential libraries because they belong to all of us.  As I walked through the Carter Museum, I looked at photos, read quotes, watched film footage, and listened to archived radio broadcasts of our collective history framed in the years of one man’s presidency.  There were accounts of times when we fell short of our best, and times we rose above ourselves to a higher level of integrity.

As I neared the end of the exhibit, one photograph and quote caught my attention.  It captured a moment in one man’s story and gave us a powerful definition of home.

We all need what the Carters found when they came home to Plains, GA.  We all need a place to heal, a place to celebrate, and a place that will anchor us in a storm.  The Carters came “home” to a place, a house, a community, but I don’t think home was limited to a physical place for them.  Perhaps coming to Plains reminded them that we can create “home” within ourselves, in our connection to each other, in our family’s history, and in our passion to leave our mark on this world.

Where is “home” for you?  Are you using those outside places and inside spaces for renewal, recognition, and shelter?  Are you offering “home” to others?  I’m glad the Carters found all those things when they returned to Plains.  I’m grateful for their commitment to join with others to create “home” for so many in our world.