Home Sweet Huh?

Along with Jesus, I also love me some Alaska.

I am currently back up north for the first time in almost three years, and it feels...surreal. This town, the place which defined how I grew up and helped to shape me into the man I am today (and provides me with the unending joy of non-stop Alaska jokes), has of course continued to change during my time away. It still feels odd though. Stop lights have changed to roundabouts. I haven't seen a moose since I arrived. People are getting capped at the quaint little mall in South Anchorage (at least now I can be from the streets). All these little changes add up to a somewhat confusing and unsettling experience. Don't get me wrong, it is still very good, but very odd at the same time.

Though this feeling is not my favorite, I wonder if it is not what I, indeed, should be feeling. The question of where my home is has troubled me since I arrived in Washington in the form of little baby college freshman Taylor all those (three) years ago. I think the deeper question at the heart of this where has been what exactly is a home? I think each person reading this is going to have a unique definition for that question, but in the end I think the primary commonality will come down to something along the lines of a place which one can identify with, and in turn a place which shapes the identity of that individual.

This definition in turn begs the question of why a place which has shaped me so much over the course of my life, and that I identify with incredibly closely, should not feel like my home. I think the core issue here is that the place which I am trying to claim as my home is earthly. Being of the earth, Alaska can only define so much of my identity. As children of God, we have the opportunity to recognize our heavenly citizenship, embracing a home which allows us to shape the pieces of our identity which cannot be understood or clarified by a worldview confined to a mortal perception. This is a truly beautiful thing, and I want to make sure that it is known that this is not limited to only a certain group. This opportunity is available to everyone.

The more I have thought on this, the more comfortable I become with this rather odd feeling that comes along with my return to Alaska. Indeed, as I begin to recognize my identity as a visitor of sorts here on Earth, it makes sense that I am not going to be able to find all that I need to define myself here in the place I once considered my home. I will always hold Alaska dear to my heart, but I need to be willing to let go of my past if I am going to understand who it is that I am meant to be.

I think, as many of this blog's readers identify with the group known as "college aged", this is something that must be examined. As we begin to potentially become more distant from the places which have worked to define who we are, we must be willing to ask why it is that those places are important to us, and why we choose to attempt to maintain connections with those places (if indeed we do). So I take the opportunity to invite you all to join me in asking just where our home is, and maybe taking that first, sometimes uncomfortable step away from what we have allowed to define us throughout our lives.

With His love and hopefully His grace,

Taylor