The fog had the consistency of a milkshake.   With measured steps I stir it up as I walk through the murkiness.  I begin to discern the skeleton of a small tree in the distance.  It appears to have a thick fur covering its skinny limbs.  As I grow closer it becomes apparent that this tree has been dead for quite a while.  It is almost entirely covered with moss, fungus and fern looking plants. 

        Gradually its corpse is being consumed; nature has transformed this dead tree into a self-service café.  Nothing is wasted by Heavens Chef.  He recycles everything; He is able to salvage and reclaim the broken pieces of our lives.  Where we see only death He brings new life.  The sign on the road may read Dead End, but there is always a detour leading to a new life for all who are brave enough to take the road less traveled.

        I stand underneath dead limbs that are teaming with new life and as I look closer I notice that there are other creatures benefiting from my deceased friend.  At the tip of each broken limb I discover these prehistoric looking bugs.  They have transformed its lifeless and mossy twigs into cozy condos.  Their home may be a humble dwelling but they appear perfectly content.   It takes more than a big expensive house to make a home. 

        Home is a place that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.  Just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, when you’re safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you’re having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.  One day you may find yourself standing in your Oz wishing more than anything else for a way home.  Like the Prodigal Son when we come to ourselves, we will give anything for a way to go home.  We can travel the world over in search of what we need and never find it until we return home.

        Today, realize the treasure you have in the place you call home.  Let us allow charity and love to begin at home.  Home is a place where the great are small and the small are great.  Cherish those little feet that learn to walk on your floors.  Reach out and connect with those who no longer share your roof.  Strive to make yours a happy home because there is truly no place like home. 

Something to think about:

• Many people appear to be a big bug at work but are just a pest at home.

• Education, like neurosis, begins at home.

• If there is any good in you, it should show itself first in your own household.

• If your home is unbearable, maybe you’re the bear.

• Home is where life makes up its mind. It is there—with fellow family members—we hammer out our convictions on the anvil of relationships. It is there we cultivate the valuable things in life, like attitudes, memories, beliefs, and most of all, character.

• The family you come from isn’t as important as the family you’re going to have.

• A happy home is more than a roof over your head—it’s a foundation under your feet.

• Home should be a retreat to which a son or daughter can return in triumph or defeat, in victory or disgrace, and know they will be loved.

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.
Rickey Moore