I lived the first half of my life in Benton, Wisconsin and I’ve lived the second half my life in Zephyrhills, Florida. Over the second-half-years, I’ve struggled with the concept of “home”.
It took my wife and me several years to appreciate Florida and for us to say we really “like” living here. We didn’t come to Florida for the climate. We came to Florida because our church denomination sent us here. Going from small-town Southwest Wisconsin to not-so-small-town Central Florida was a big adjustment for us. Now, as our area is transitioning rapidly from a not-so-small-town to a metropolis where roads, schools, and even retail businesses are lagging behind it continues to be a daily adjustment.
Over these years we have come to call Florida home. However, we still often hear ourselves refer to Wisconsin as home. As I write this, I’m home…I mean I’m in Wisconsin. Deb and I took a drive around the old hometown and surrounding area yesterday. Even though we see many changes we also see that not much has changed at all. There’s a new house here and there. The intersection at County Road W and County Road J was pretty much unrecognizable to us. In fact, I missed the turn as I came from Buncomb to Benton. But that’s about it.
The definition of home is the place or region where something is native or most common. A synonym for home is familiar. After all these years, I find that I’m still more familiar with the sights and sounds of the place where I grew up than I am with the place where I’ve spent the second half of my life. Seeing acres and acres of corn, soybeans, and alfalfa fields, watching box elder bugs crawl and fly around, and the aroma of the dairy air are familiar. They all bring back many memories.
I recently asked some friends in Florida how they mentally measure distances. Those I was asking are transplants from other states…Maine, New York, Ohio. I discovered that just like me, when someone says that a place is X miles away, they immediately think of a place that distance from their hometown. If someone says to me it’s 40 miles away, I think Benton to Monroe. If they say 80 miles away, I think Benton to Madison. The reason I do this is because I’m still more familiar with where I grew up than where I live.
But it’s not only the distances, scenery, bugs, and smells that make the Benton area more familiar. It’s the people. With many people in Wisconsin, we have the same memories. We knew the same people. We experienced many of the same things. And what many people don’t notice is that we speak the same language.
I think the language part might be difficult for some to detect. We all know that people from different parts of the country have different accents and use different phrases. So even though we are all speaking English and we understand what’s being said, we actually miss more words than we realize when speaking to those from other parts of America. For example, I’ve noticed over the years, that I have to really pay attention when talking to someone from Alabama, Maine, or a foreign country. It’s kind of like speed reading. When speed reading, we don’t hang on to every single word. We take in the necessary words and, in the context, we understand what we read.
Language researchers say that Wisconsinites speak in a strong, nasal tone and use several unique phrases. And that they round out consonants and drag out vowels. What Deb and I have noticed, when having a conversation in Florida with someone from Wisconsin, is that we understand everything said. Their speech is familiar. Their speech is home.
So where’s home for you? Is it where you currently live? Is it where you grew up? Is home the place you moved to? Do you feel you have two homes? If home means familiar, then I suppose I’m going to have to say Wisconsin is home. But then, after all these years, Florida is very familiar.
The fact is this will all be a moot point one day soon because I’m looking forward to my eternal home that is so wonderful it’s beyond my imagination. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:9 “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.'”
Once we enter into a personal relationship with Christ we realize our home in this world is not something on which we should become overly focused or familiar. This home is a temporary place for us to enjoy. Hebrews 13:14, says “For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.” Our next home will be a place of forever joy.
Something we probably don’t think about when we think of Heaven is that it will feel more familiar than anywhere we’ve ever been in this world. It will be familiar because Jesus will be there. It will be familiar because we will know this is where we belong - forever. It will be familiar because we’ll understand perfectly everything that is said.
Regardless of whether I call Wisconsin or Florida home, the fact is that in Heaven, both will become distant memories. I've heard it said that home is where your heart is. As much as I enjoy life in this world, my heart is in Heaven.
After our visit back home, we'll hop on a plane and head to Florida. Guess what. It’ll be nice to get back home.
