I learned something new this week. Home and belonging can be felt anywhere when we have five close friends with whom we have regular connections. Even better, not all of those friends have to live where I live!

I am thinking of my three people here in this little corner of East Africa and thankful for two more who live on two other continents. A lie I have often listened to as a third-culture kid is that somewhere can never be home, and I can never truly belong somewhere because my people are spread out all over the world.

Over the years I have discovered that Home is making the house I live in feel welcoming. Home is having friends near and far. Home is where memories are made. Home is where a life of purpose is lived.

Belonging is not solely dependent on a physical location. It goes deeper to the core of who I am. It means closeness, familiarity, and intimacy. Those can happen in my relationships from both near and far. Nearness and inseparability are harder. I love that in my journey of faith, I can experience all of these no matter where I live.

Home is the place where you feel comfortable and relaxed. Belonging is about the ties that bind us to people, places, and purpose.