When You Aren’t at Home with Being at Home
And what's coming next in 2020?
As a writer, I fall in love with words daily.
“At home” is a delightful example of everything that a few short words can hold.
Home is one of the most powerful words in any language. But add “at” and suddenly the meaning twists. Even if home conjures negative connotations, the phrase “at home” still signals where and when we feel comfortable.
Home can mean people, places, or times. Home is the people we love, whether given or chosen. Home is the place we gather, familiar and welcoming. Home is the moments of love we share, family or friends together.
But in pandemic life, home feels muddled. Overnight, home suddenly included school and work and church and everything in between.
During quarantine, we face the intensity of being with certain people always and others never. Our homes become places of concentrated activity, but not shared with others as we once enjoyed. Even our time at home feels unfamiliar: the endless eternal of “what day/month is it?”
Here in my home state, it feels like we’re on the cusp of change again. “Uncontrolled community spread” where I live (NOT a phrase I love), and here come the holidays right around the corner.
What will life look like in a few short months? Will we be stuck at home again, sheltering in place?
And in the wider world, where everything is politicized and polarized, where can we settle in for solace when we crave comfort?
For Christians, home is not the world. It cannot contain the fullness of community. But the world is also not our home. Its brokenness will always break our hearts.
“The world is thy ship and not thy home.” (St. Therese of Lisieux)
But if we turn the noun into a verb, a big shift happens. To home our faith is to let it return. Human souls are driven by instinct, like homing pigeons, to find our ultimate harbor and haven in God.
Every great story is about leaving or returning home. Human history is the same.
Our hearts are restless till they rest in thee. (St. Augustine)
Today I’ve gathered resources for you whether you’re at home or not at home.
If you’re at home with grief
We’re all grieving—not just the loss of a loved one, but all the ordinary griefs of the pandemic. To help you sort through the grief you’re carrying, check out the Hallow App.
Hallow is a Catholic meditation app full of daily prayers and reflections.
I just finished a 3-part series for Hallow on grief today: the Everyday Griefs of 2020, the Extraordinary Grief that death brings, and Praying through Grief when we have no words.
You can download the app and get a free 30-day trial membership to check out Hallow here.
And if you’re having trouble sleeping, I also did a Sleep Story for Hallow to help you fall asleep while I read the end of the Gospel of Luke and the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles.
If you’re not at home with our current politics
Julie Varner Walsh has created a deeply thoughtful new podcast, More Than Politics. She asked me to join her for an episode on how to talk to kids about politics and current events, and I’m still chewing on our conversation.
I shared a story about how our oldest son dealt with his frustration at seeing political signs he didn’t agree with. His response still sits before my eyes each day—one more way I’m drawing strength how young people are navigating this tumultuous year.
I’d love to hear from you: how do you talk about politics and news with the children in your life?
If you’re at home with your kids
If you’re wondering how to help children grow in faith at home this year, here’s the snapshot of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) that I promised.
You can learn more about the method from the brand-new resources for families on the CGS-USA website. You can also buy a beautiful prayer table kit that makes a great start to an atrium space at home.
This summer I started pouring through books on Montessori and CGS. Two of the most accessible books are Listening to God with Children by Gianna Gobbi and The Good Shepherd and the Child: A Joyful Journey (both available here in English and Spanish). I also loved The Child in the Church by Maria Montessori.
CGS launched a new podcast that has been another great source of learning and reflection. Check out this episode on children with different abilities and needs and this one on living the domestic church.
This method encourages catechists to make their own materials, which can be a challenge for the non-crafty among us. But I’ve been surprised by how meditative it’s been to create with my hands. I also found some lovely shops for other materials: The Sheep Gate, Rainbow Peg Dolls, and the Center for Children and Theology. (I got inspired from resources on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers, too.)
And remember, no matter your age or stage of life, growing faith at home is still faith for others.
If you’re not at home with where your life is going
So many of us are struggling right now: physically, mentally, financially, emotionally, spiritually, or socially. Here’s a prayer that hits home—another striking turn of phrase—for the uncertainty we’re living in these days.
Often called the Holden Village Prayer or the Lutheran Prayer of Good Courage, it actually comes from the anthology Daily Prayer by Frank Topping.
(Ask me how I know, and I will tell you the tale of how I spent 9 months researching copyrights for this book I wrote and NEVER WILL REPEAT.) But I digress.
It’s a lovely prayer, full of yearning and wandering and hoping in home. May it bring you hope today, at home or afar.
Peace,
Laura
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Find my books here: Everyday Sacrament | Grieving Together | Prayers for Pregnancy & Birth | To Bless Our Callings | Living Your Discipleship