I’m freak’n back

I don’t think I have ever felt farther from home than when I was in Birmingham.

I don’t know. Maybe it was the fact that I went four weeks without taking a shower, shared a pullout couch with Eric and often questioned whether I was helping sustain homelessness. But something about Birmingham never felt right. Day after day I felt uneasy.

Well, everywhere that was except Starbucks. I know, I know. I am a sellout. But its bathrooms are clean, its coffee is warm and I feel at peace in its plush, overly comfy chairs. It is a daily, sometimes twice daily, break. In an otherwise inconsistent world, it is the closest thing to home.

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For the month of November I worked with the homeless. I felt blessed to hear their stories. None were the same. Each person had a different cause for their struggle—the pain of losing a loved one, the downsizing of a company, the defeat of addiction. Each story rooted itself within a different form of pain but always with one thing in common: at the end of the day they had no where to go.

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The homeless love to quote the fact that Jesus was homeless. They say He was just like them. This is how they know He still loves them. He too lived on the streets.

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The homeless say they like to go to the Church of the Reconciler because it was a place they felt free to worship. It is not thier physical home but they are invited to lead worship, participate in Bible study and take part in communion. I asked them why they chose to worship there. They said it was the place where they felt welcome. They said it was where they were most at peace.

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Before Jesus was crucified, he said he was going to return to the Father. I think this was His homecoming. On Earth His job was never done, but next to God he found rest.

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I wonder if one’s home is not necessary a roof over their heads or a bed within a house but rather the place where we find comfort.

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I think many would say Starbucks is the farthest place from God. But it is the place where I find peace. God might not drink four dollar lattes but he meets me here. We talk over coffee and I find rest in Him.

Blessings,

Kent