Many
of us find home a place where we long to be, a place of comfort, a
place of peace and safety, even a setting for joy. Whether it’s
going home after a busy day, returning home at the conclusion of an
honorable mission, or the transcendent hope of going back home to our
Father in Heaven at the end of a good life, thoughts of going home
can brighten our lives and warm our hearts.
I’ve
had two relatively recent experiences that have made me particularly
aware of the security and blessings associated with home.
On
a trip to New Zealand with my husband, Hank, we observed with
interest that it was a land where many people participate in extreme
sports. On one occasion, after a daring bungee jump, we overheard the
jumper exclaim, “That was the thrill of a lifetime!”
“Not
for me,” I thought to myself. “My thrill will be arriving
home safely after a 20,000-mile
trip in the Southern Hemisphere.”
I
love to travel, and visiting the beautiful countries of Australia and
New Zealand was an absolute delight. But for me there’s no
place like home. I subscribe to the words of Samuel Johnson, who
said, “The ultimate result of all
ambition is to be happy at home.”
The
second experience occurred a few years ago, when our phone rang in
the middle of the night with tragic news. Nancy, our youngest
daughter, had been in a horrific automobile accident and had been
taken by ambulance to a local shock-trauma hospital.
For
the next thirty-five days as we sat by her bedside, first in the ICU
as she fought for her life and then in a private room as she
continued to make a slow, but valiant recovery from a near fatal
internal injury, the goal was always going home. What
a joyous homecoming it was when that day came.
Marketing
specialists have long realized that including the word “home”
on a label boosts sales. Hence we see lots of products such as “Old
Home Bread,” “Home Pride Jam,” or “Home Style
Apple Sauce.”
Musicians,
too, understand the appeal of home. The winsome strains of “I’ll
Be Home for Christmas” never fail to tug at my heart. The topic
of home has also been a favorite subject throughout the years for
poets, writers, and philosophers.
One
writer expressed it well by penning, “Home is
not just where you hang your hat, it’s where you plant your
heart.” (Michael O. Richardson).
Much
of the sadness in the world comes as a result of people losing their
homes. There are people who are homeless for physical reasons.
Natural and man-made disasters throughout the history of the world
have left countless people homeless.
Personal
problems such as becoming ill or disabled, experiencing severe
financial reverses or undergoing a foreclosure can cause people to
lose their houses. We would wish for everyone that recovery is
possible and that soon there would be another house for their home.
There
is also an emotional homelessness because houses are not always
homes. Even though the structure may be in place, qualities that make
a house a home are missing to one extent or another. It is the people
who are the home, and we would pray for these people that broken
hearts can be mended and broken lives can be fixed.
Just
as houses are not always homes, sometimes the blessings of home do
not need a structure to be found. In other words, there are
situations where it’s possible to have a home without a house
to put it in. I remember feeling that way as a child when my father’s
military assignments caused us to relocate frequently.
A
house becomes a home when a person feels loved and understood there;
when it is a place where family and friends are comfortable and
happy; when good dinners are served and good times happen within its
walls; when the family gathers; when it’s a place of fun and
laughter; when it’s a secure, safe place; when there are warm,
fuzzy blankets and soft pillows.
It’s
where children are taught life skills and how to be self-reliant.
It’s where there are cookies and milk after school. It’s
where cleanliness and order can be found. It’s a place of
patience, selflessness, and forgiveness.
It
is where challenges are faced by coupling temporal endeavors with
eternal perspectives. It’s where joy through gospel teaching
and living prevails, and where love is strong enough to bind the
family forever.
A
home can be a personal temple. It is a place where people are
nurtured toward eternal life. Yes,
many of us do find home a place where we long to be, a place of
comfort, a place of peace and safety.
Going
home can brighten our lives and warm our hearts. Our eternal home is
but an extension of our home on earth — a setting for lasting
joy.
A native of Salt Lake City, Daryl Hoole has written and lectured extensively on home
management and family living. She has served on the ward, stake, regional, and general levels of
the Church. It has also been her privilege to fulfill three missions -- once to the Netherlands
when she was young and single; another time as companion to her husband as he presided over
the Netherlands Amsterdam Mission; and the third time with two other senior couples as Asia
Area Welfare/Humanitarian Administrators, headquartered in Hong Kong.
She and her husband Hank and are the parents of eight living children, the grandparents of thirty-six, and the great-grandparents of a rapidly increasing number.