A couple years ago, I set out from my Denver home with the goal of learning to be at home, wherever my journey may take me. With the spirit of a vagabond, I traveled to towns in Colorado and other states, interspersed with short stays with friends and relatives, finally landing for a long interim at my mom’s in Louisiana. During those months with Mom, we renewed our relationship and took it to a new level.

This fall, when the trees were turning gold and birds gathering, I returned to Colorado. Gingerly, I stepped through the threshold into the old dwelling place and set up camp. Little by little I made it my home again, culminating in the festive, magically lit, hushed days before Christmas.

There is no more special place on Earth than home, where joy, love, and the spirit of creativity reign. And though we may create surroundings that reflect who we are, truly, home is within. Each morning I ask God to help me set all concern aside to tap that inner space, for the comfort that it brings.

Home provides a context for the winnowing of experience. It allows us to release what is lost or no longer serves, to be with life as we find it, and to move on. It encourages us to surrender through the sense of being grounded. It is a place of communion where faith is born.

The cultivation of this sanctum comes through self-love, in the way that God loves—unconditionally, with recognition and attendance. Ways of attending are as varied as there are people, but the object remains the same—the nurturance of that which belongs to us and cannot be taken away—a cozy refuge when we need it and an encourager of change. It is an essential aspect of survival for a lifetime of experience. When all is said and done, it alone remains—our home, a treasure—for the journey to Heaven.

May your home be a source of joy and renewal in the New Year and beyond.

Many thanks for this guest post, by Carol Hampson

Carol Hampson was born and raised in Louisiana. She moved to Colorado as a young woman to pursue a career in special education, later moving to the mountains southwest of Denver to raise a family. While her children were still young, she found her professional calling in life as a storyteller, performing original stories as well as myths and legends from world cultures. After attending the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking in Denver, she started her own company, staging dinner/performances for local audiences. In 2003, the sudden loss of her son, Christopher, became the inspiration for writing a memoir. Freedom to Fall is Carol’s first book.