My Weekly Homecoming

It’s hard being so far away from family, especially on holidays. I was giving friends a hard time because they were skipping out on lunch with us to go and see family for Mother’s Day. “What’s the big deal” I said, “it’s just a made up holiday”, to which they just shrugged and agreed. But later I was thinking what I would be doing if I lived within driving distance of our family. I’d be going to see my mom. Or better yet, with our homestead plans, we’ll pick her up and bring her to our house for a big family lunch. I’m a little jealous of my friends now.


Like I said, it’s hard. My family and I haven’t always been the closest but we’re family and I need that just like everyone. I’ve been out of the house now going on 9 years and it wasn’t until we moved here, and saw everyone returning home for the traditional gatherings, that I really felt homesick for that tradition.

No church is perfect and any one that tells you they are is lying in addition to who knows what else. Traveling around has given me some perspective into this as I’ve attended countless different churches over the years and I’ve seen all sorts of flaws. When we moved to Shreveport we were strangers in a strange land. Coming from a place where some of my closet friends were literally a stones throw a way to a place where we didn’t know a soul was very hard on me. We tried our current church, didn’t quite find a fit, and went to a different one. We spent a year or so there but certain ways that they handled things didn’t sit right with us and we ended up going back to Church at Red River. What got us in the door was an invitation but what kept us there were the people. Everyone welcomed us with hugs and hand shakes though they barley knew us. The pastor’s wife remembered our names and faces even though we had only met her a hand full of times over a year prior. They were so real! When they asked “How are you” they meant it.

I play the drums on Friday nights for a group called Celebrate Recovery. It’s kind of like a Christ centered AA and is for people with “hurts, habits and hang ups”. These are people who have been around the block. But they are the nicest warmest people you’ve ever met. Some of them if you met them in a dark ally you’d get a little nervous but those are the same ones that’ll give you the big bear hug when they greet you. Admittedly the lure of band playing, free hot home cooked meal, free child care, and a biblical lesson help keep us coming back but the people are a big part too.

I realized how much we’re apart of this group this past Sunday. I had hurt my arm and couldn’t play two weeks ago and last week I had plans and couldn’t play, plus I needed the extra healing time. But Sunday morning people were coming out of the woodwork to greet me, ask about my arm, and to tell me how much they missed my playing. It was really wonderful to know that I was so beloved by these people. To know that my family and I have had such an impact on their lives and that they have had one on ours. I get a homecoming every week even though I’m technically 1,000 miles from home. God provides again.