Picture a place where hearts are completely sure of each other. Imagine being able to tear off the mask of guarded and suspicious coldness the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and feeling free to pour out unreserved communications of a full, confiding heart. What in the world would it be like to gush with expressions of tenderness without any sense of awkwardness or dread of ridicule?
Isn’t that a beautiful thought? What stirs in your heart at the thought of such a place? Let me guess. I’ve longed for this my whole life. I long for it still … and I’m guessing you do, too. The place I just described is actually a “definition of home” that helps me understand the homesickness so many of us carry in our hearts. Listen to it again, exactly as the author penned it:
Home is the place in all the world where hearts are sure of each other. It is the place of confidence. It is the place where we tear off that mask of guarded and suspicious coldness which the world forces us to wear in self-defense, and where we pour out the unreserved communications of full and confiding hearts. It is the spot where expressions of tenderness gush out without any sensation of awkwardness and without any dread of ridicule. ~ Frederick W. Robertson
Through all my years of homesickness — all my attempts to stay home, go back home, find home, make a home, even run from home – I know now that what I thought was homesickness was really a longing for confiding hearts. For people my tender heart could be sure enough of to gush freely without fear of rejection, misunderstanding, or ridicule. An atmosphere of complete acceptance and utter confidence.
What about you? How does your tender heart respond? Try not to filter it or analyze it. And do your best not to disdain the tenderness you’ve always mistaken for weakness. Instead … practice making a place where you no longer treat yourself with guarded and suspicious coldness.
It’s ok if you have no idea where to start, or how in the world to change your internal atmosphere. It takes practice and people we are sure of to help us picture it. For now … just take a minute to imagine it: coming home to yourself, fully confident that you’ll find a spot where unreserved warmth flows and tenderness gushes.
Isn’t that a beautiful thought? Isn’t it what we’ve been longing for our whole lives? I know now that there really is such a place and that we really can have it … whenever we’re ready to come home.
