Holiness in our midst – Session 30
SESSION XXX: ON HOME
I had settled into Chicago, I thought. But I learned on a walk in 1984 that my “home” might not be where I was dwelling. Heading back to my apartment from a late night walk, I was going south on prestigious Astor Street. A tourist suddenly blocked my path and asked me point blank, “Is Chicago your home?” Her phrasing caught me off guard. I stammered out, “I’ve lived in Chicago for 10 years, but if you born on an Iowa farm, will anywhere else ever really be home?”
She wasn’t interested in my identity crisis. She gave me a pitying look and interrupted: “What I really want to know is: Where is Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion?”
“A block north and two blocks west,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said. “I hope you find your home,” she called back.
My answer to her “home” question had caught me off-guard. But it proved to be true, in the long run. I loved the excitement of Chicago day and night: Where else could I find first-run movies, original plays, museums, the lake and Lincoln Park within walking distance? I have found other places beautiful and fascinating, even some half-way around the world, but only Iowa, particularly the Central Iowa area where I grew up, satisfies as the place I will always call my home.
Where is the place you call home?
STORY CIRCLE QUESTION: What is your answer to: “Where is your home?”
FOR PERSONAL/JOURNAL REFLECTION:
- Read the above reflection.
- Write a journal reflection on the place you call home. Where is it? Why did you choose it?
FOR GROUP STUDY:
- Read aloud Session XXX.
- Ask each person to answer the Story Circle Question.