This heart is home

Three porch steps before bursting into the house with a whirl of spring night air. I untie my green shoelaces and toss my shoes by the door. In a matter of seconds my coat is hanging in its usual place and my hands are catching warmth from the woodstove.

Being outdoors is amazing, but what is inside these particular walls is home.

 
I hear the voices of my dad and sister talking upstairs. I have no idea what they´re saying…but I know it is a pleasant exchange of words.

I head up to the room I call mine. My fingers automatically find the oddly-located light switch behind the door. The book is where I left it. Papers and miscellaneous objects still cover my desk haphazardly. I lie down on the carpet and begin to read.

I realize that one reason I am happy in this house is because no one questions my presence here. No one has ever told me I didn´t belong here. When I leave, no one has required me to go elsewhere. When I return, no one says that my place has been filled by someone else.

The peace of knowing this structure exists (…that I can come back to it, dwell in it, sleep in it, play the piano in it, be quiet in it, feel safe in it, and play Battleship with my nephew in it) is striking.

I wonder if Jesus could ever find such a peaceful and assured dwelling place in my heart. Can Jesus confidently stride into my heart without knocking, kick off His shoes, and be warmed by my love? Or does He still feel just like a guest? Could Jesus ever softly say, “The splendor of my Universe is amazing, but what is inside this particular heart is home. I am safe in this heart. I am happy in this heart…because no one questions my Presence here.”

“But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!” II Chronicles 6:18