Home

Photo by Mark McCammon

Home is

supposed to be loving,

with wise counsel,

gentle hands and good correction,

accepting laughter,

and understanding.

We know it,

in our core,

from birth, it seems--

so babies die from

emotional neglect,

toddlers become withdrawn,

preschoolers hide,

adolescents aim to please,

teens shut down or rebel,

and adults walk around numb.

What do we do if our family

was harsh and unsafe

a place of secrets and threats

of punishment about wrath

of boundaries squashed

and of rights nonexistent?

What do we do with our memories of

a cold place in which we survived,

clinging as best we could

to life, while dying inside?

There is no easy answer

no pain-free solution

We must remember and grieve

the should be's that weren't

the losses that we suffered

the pain that we carried.

We can heal, step by difficult step,

growing along the way,

re-learning how

to live,

to feel joy and to laugh freely,

with no fear entangling our feet!

Free to make mistakes--without

being crushed by shame

or to try new things without

his or her voice dragging us down.

It's not the easy road,

but it leads to riches for our spirit

It leads to making a new home,

planted in love and sustained by

God's grace,

mutual acceptance,

gentleness and kindness,

tenderness and forgiveness,

consistency and flexibility;

a new home,

that grows toward

what home should be, and can be today,

step by step.

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