Far? Far from where?

Do you remember watching Fiddler on the Roof when you were little? We used to watch it every year when it came on, my parents loved that show. One line in particular has stuck with me all these years. It was when 2 families met in the road and one asked "Where will go?" and the other said "America" the first man said "But that's so FAR!" and the second man shrugged and shook his head and said "Far? Far from where?" I have often felt that way in my life. As a child we moved around a lot. I attended 10 different elementary schools in 2 countries, that was my normal. No, we weren't military (because that's what everyone asks) and while my dad served in both the American and Canadian armed forces that wasn't why moved. My dad was a pastor, who happened to be really good at building churches, a skill not every pastor has, so the church needed us to move on a pretty regular basis.



I am actually one of those rare people who enjoyed moving around, much more than my brothers did. We have seen so many things and been so many places and met so many wonderful people that I honestly felt blessed to get to live that life. I often joke that I am part Gypsy anyway and I feel restless if I've been in one place too long. I have never really felt like I had a "home" though. My friends are all "from" somewhere, but not me, we moved out of the country before my second birthday and continued that pattern my whole life. Through the years I have felt connections to places but when people ask me where home is I really don't have an answer. Depending on my mood or how much I feel like revealing I might say Spokane, because that's where I went to High School and that is where my moms side of the family is from but I don't know that I would ever move back. I might say Seattle because I really enjoyed living there when I was younger. I might also say Calgary because that is where my husband is from and was home for us for awhile. I might say Boise because of all the places I have lived, I lived there the longest and some of my dearest friends on earth live there but none of those places feel like I imagine home should feel. I'm not really "from" any of those places anyway, they were all just stops along the way.

I remember telling my parents after we left Seattle when I was 10 that I felt the only home I ever had was the road. They were really angry about that but I didn't mean in it a bad way. I had everything I needed and it didn't matter to me where we were at the time. We were together and the road was a fine place to be. I had my brothers and my parents and we were safe. To me, that was all that mattered. I learned how to make friends quickly and I am blessed to have friends all over the world now that I keep in touch with.

Now we are in flux again, in my husbands line of work they can send us anywhere and probably will. I learned a long time ago to never say "I will never live there" Because that is kind of like daring God to send you somewhere and He will take you up on it! There are places I would prefer not to live but I am pretty open. When we moved here I thought it would be easy to see my family, just a 2 days drive, but honestly it doesn't happen often. So, while I would love to see them more often, another days drive or a couple more hours on a flight is probably not going to matter much either way. We have made up for it with phone calls and FaceTime and emails, all of which make being apart a little easier. Besides, none of them really want to come here anyway.

Which brings me back to the Fiddler... "Far? Far from where?" I don't know what tomorrow will bring or where it will take us, the great thing is, I don't have to have those answers. I know God has them and that His plan is bigger and better than any plan I have so I put my trust in Him, to take us where He wants us to go. Because home doesn't have to be a place, for me home is wherever I am with those that I love and thankfully, that can be anywhere.




ps: God, I really do miss living near the Ocean though so if that's in Your plan that would be awesome! K thanks bye.